August is almost over and the rain is still here. This winter seems never-ending.
We get tantalised with glimpses of spring, but then feel even more dejected when they don’t last. We feel like we’ve been tricked into believing spring is coming.
The thing is. Winter will end, eventually. Spring will come. It always does. And though it seems slower in coming this year. It will still come.
Have you ever had that feeling in the midst of a soul winter? Have you had that vague hope, that glimmer that you are coming out of your circumstances, and then another storm comes unexpectedly and knocks you down?
It is soul crushing.
And yet.
This too shall pass.
Spring always comes.
You may not see it right now, through the pouring rain, but there are buds on the trees, ready to spring forth in blossom.
You might not hear it right now as the thunder cracks and bellows, but birds are singing to each other as they make their nest.
You might not feel it right now in the biting wind, but the weather is changing and spring is on its way.
We know the one who made the seasons. He is present in the winter, just as he is present in the summer.
As it is with seasons of nature, so it is with seasons of the soul. No wonder David could say in Psalm 27:
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27: 13-14 (NIV)
As we wait, spring gets ready.
As we wait, the seeds sown deep in our soul can be germinating.
As we wait, the season will pass, and hope will arise.
For we know who made the seasons, and spring always comes.
May you know the presence of the one who made the seasons,
in all the seasons of your life.As you wait for your winter to end, may your heart be strengthened,
and may hope arise.May you know, without a doubt, that you will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.Amen