the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come;
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
Song of Songs 2:11-12
Even as a kid, I loved this scripture. And, for some reason, this year it seems particularly pertinent. I don’t like being cold. I don’t like the strong winter winds and the ice storms and shoveling snow, chipping ice, and worrying about enough wood and potential power outages. In fact, this entire winter has seemed to be a stressful time of worrying about too many things to do, not enough hours in the day, the weather, and health issues. I feel the winter cold (and all its accoutrements) wearing away my reserves. I am weary. The dark, dreary, cold days are a perfect foil for the stresses and troubles. More times than I’d like to admit, I’ve found myself turning to scriptures like “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15); “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). “ . . . And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. . .” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “. . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6). “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
And so it occurs to me that winter, with its cold and its trouble, is a type of this life. This life is not meant to be easy. There are too many examples of Godly people in the Bible who suffered. Think of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, Abednego, Joseph, and Job. Perhaps we can make a case that all of the former deserved to suffer; they were sinners, after all. But I don’t think that’s all there is to it. Think of Christ. He was without sin, yet he suffered. It is not lightly that Isaiah refers to him as the suffering servant! How can you read Isaiah 53 or the gospel accounts of the crucifixion without feeling deeply the suffering Jesus Christ suffered for you!
The wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years is perhaps another type of this life. Their dwellings were not permanent - as ours are not. We are just strangers, claiming God’s kingdom as our permanent home (Hebrews 11:13-14). They looked to God for guidance of when to move, when to stay, and what direction to take - just as we should (Proverbs 3:6). God provided for their every need - water, manna, protection, victory over their enemies - even when they didn’t get what they wanted, but rather what they needed. (Exodus 16:3) God also has promised to give us what we need, not necessarily what we want (Matthew 6:25-26). God took care of them, even down to preserving their clothes and sandals for forty years!!! (Deut 29:5) What a miracle that was! And I know that God has performed incredible miracles in my life! I’d dare say you could find a few too. So, despite the troubles of this life, we are assured that God is with us; He has not left us.
All right. So winter is cold and unpleasant. This Christian life is full of suffering and trials. But, both are necessary. Without the rest, the cold, the precipitation, the plants would not be hardy, the soil would not be as fertile, the bugs would overtake us (yes, worse than the present Japanese beetle epidemic!), and the gardens would not grow as well. Similarly, without the stress to fight against, our mettle would not be tested in the fire. Romans 5:3-4 puts it this way “. . . we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” There is a definite purpose to the things we endure, and specifically, how we endure them.
Nevertheless, I don’t like winter and I don’t enjoy the difficult things that I go through. But I take heart. Lo, the winter is over! We are on the edge of spring. Warmer weather is on the way. We are almost done with dark and dreary. Similarly, the signs are all around. This life is not going to last much longer. Take heart! Jesus Christ is coming back soon! He will establish His kingdom on this earth and do away with all of the pain and sorrow and death. Even though we don’t know exactly when He is coming again, we do have a divine appointment with Him in the near future. As we watch for the new moon this week, we’ll know that Passover is just a couple of weeks away.
It’s time to get ready for this divine appointment. Even as you are cleaning the leavening out of your homes, air out the corners in your heart. Sweep out any feelings of bitterness, strife, and envy engendered by the carnal nature as you trudged through the wintery mire. Open wide the doors. Examine yourself. Pray that God will be merciful, even as He shows you your sins. And rejoice! Spring is coming! Christ is coming! Yes, if you belong to Christ, He dwells within you, and will dwell within you even more abundantly. Come, Lord Jesus.