Jesus, Make It Warm . . .

By Amandajm (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

There was a cute little video on Facebook yesterday of a little boy shoveling snow off a walkway.  He wasn’t doing very well and struggled with even moving one tiny shovel full of snow.  He said, “Jesus, make it warm”.  It seemed so innocent and so genuine.  It made me think of Winter and the effects of it.

Since I live in sunny California, Winter isn’t harsh.  I’ve only had to endure that once when I was a child about that little boy’s age.  We lived in Denver when I was 5 years old.  The memories have faded about the snow and the cold, since then.

When my son was little, we lived in the High Desert of California.  Winter there was cold and sometimes we had a little dusting of snow, but nothing like what other people have to endure.  So, my frame of reference comes, instead, from a spiritual application about Winter.

What does the season of Winter mean in our lives, and why does God permit such things?  Those are valid questions, especially if you have been called to endure some very difficult circumstances.  I think there are some principles we can glean from Winter’s stark and cold characteristics.

First of all, the truth is, God works in every season in nature in different ways.  Winter is the season when everything seems to be dead.  It’s cold, harsh climate creates the need to be indoors and warm, even if we enjoy outdoor sports or activities.  If we get too cold, like that little boy in the video, we cry out for warmth.  He had the right idea.

I believe Jesus built into Winter the revelation that human beings need a slower pace and a warm cozy place to be.  The days are shorter and less light is available.  During a “Winter” season in your life, spiritually speaking, that means you may have to slow down your pace as you pursue the goals and plans God has for you.  Many people go through a time of reflection and goal setting for the year ahead during the Winter months.  This relates spiritually as well.

When we go through a spiritually dark, cold, unfruitful time, it means we need to settle in to the warmth and coziness of God’s loving embrace.  We have to rest assured that Spring is coming.  He may be silent during these times, but the fire within Him keeps us warm, even if everything else around us is cold and dark.

In Winter, the beauty of the leaves has been stripped from all the trees.  Fruitfulness appears to be lost.  Fall created the change, but Winter drives the transformation.  Trees gain strength in Winter because they don’t have to work so hard to produce leaves and fruit or flowers.  They may go dormant, but the deep work takes place on the inside, hidden from view.  The same happens to us when we go through a time of spiritual Winter.

Since seeds are sown in Fall and trees scatter their seed by the winds of change during that season, Winter buries them, often under snow.  What happens when the seeds are buried is that they die.  It seems as if growth and fruitfulness die with it.  But Scripture tells us in John 12:24:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

So, in reference to Winter and the spiritual application, the things God has asked us to do may have to go through a time of seeming to be dead before they can come back to life.  The deep work in our souls needed for the next season has to take place to prepare us for what God has ahead.

Sometimes, it’s really hard to go through this waiting period.  The Winter months can seem to stretch so long that we wonder if Spring will ever come.  But it does come, eventually.  Before you know it, the first buds shoot forth, the first flowers appear and the sun comes out brighter and brighter.  The early rains come again and life begins to sprout forth in a glorious display.

In our Christian lives, we need the Winter times in the Spirit.  God knows some things have to die to reproduce.  He wants us to settle in with Him during these dark days when nothing seems to be happening.  It builds patience and character.  It prepares us for the time ahead where fruitfulness again comes to life.

I wrote a poem, several years ago, when I was going through a very difficult season.  I share it with you today, hoping it will help these spiritual truths to take root.

Weeping Willow

Winter’s chill has stripped the willow
of all her green and glorious hair.
But she still weeps as cold winds blow
and hangs her head, so fair.

Why does she droop, her frail vines sweeping
from skeletal arms perilously bare?
Abandoned they stoop, so empty, sleeping,
all façade removed, exposed, aware.

What anguished dread or sadness reaping;
What quiet ache or deepest care
Has caused her head to hang so weeping,
has stolen strength and left despair?

I see her lonely form and wonder,
and whisper my questions into the air.
What life is only left from cruel plunder?
What gives her strength to bear?

The answers revealed through the season’s change
and I know with the willow I share.
My own loss concealed, will by time rearrange,
what Winter stripped, bright Spring will repair.

My prayer for you today is that you will recognize the Spiritual climate you are currently in.  Maybe you’re not in the hard season right now.  But, be prepared, because the seasons change.  Plant your roots deeply during the good times.  Spend time with Jesus, so when He is silent, you can still be warmed by the fire of His presence.

If your season is Winter right now, I hope you’ll grasp these concepts taught to us so beautifully in God’s natural seasons.  I pray that your dark, cold Winter passes quickly; that the death needed will be effective and that God will prepare you for the beautiful Spring that’s coming.  If you’re in that now, I pray you’ll be able to utter the cry like that little boy and say, “Jesus, make it warm.”

 Genesis 8:22  “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Always in Jesus,

Desireé Figg

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