Here we are in the middle of winter. The great thaw of last week ended abruptly as northern winds swept down and clouded skies dusted us with white once again. No signs of a bright and colorful future right now, just variations of brown and gray.
Why do we have faith that winters are temporary? Why do we believe color and warmth are coming? Because we have to hope. We do. We hold on and wait. We have faith in season’s cycles.
Do we have faith in God’s promises? Do we hold onto them, keep them in our hearts, and wait for His promises to come true? Do we gaze upon His beauty, letting Him warm our inner frozenness and grow beauty even in the midst of our soul winters?
He promised to come again and make all things new. Do we believe? Do we hold the vision in our hearts and minds and live in anticipation?
It’s so easy to get stuck in the cold and spin tires on the ice of life. It’s so easy to hunker down, shut down, and just—try—to endure. But God wants to help us see beyond seasons of cold, landscapes of drab and barren. He wants to help us hold spring in our hearts, giving us eyes to see beyond now.
New life is coming, sure as spring.
Even now, in our cycling world, new life is coming. But permanent, full-spectrum, perfectly colored life is coming too! And we can be so sure of what’s coming that we can live like it now. Such hope in the future breeds joy in the present.
When those I help can’t see beyond their own limitations, I can see wholeness coming. When we lament over evil acts in our world, I can see justice coming. When those I love die, I can see resurrection coming. In all, I can have joy now even before God’s great gifts are delivered. He’s coming. Just knowing what’s coming thaws my frozen heart and causes blooming in the midst of my inner winters.
Hopeful beauty keeps me going right through barren times. I look at each flower grown last year in my gardens and remember . . .
He’s coming back. I can nearly hear the white horse hoofs of Revelation’s promise pounding, gathering momentum, bringing back the King of kings. My vision of the return of the King keeps me going.
He’s coming back. All will be made newly perfect by Him, as everything was originally. All that we hope for will come true in Him. Love never ending, peace all consuming, joy overwhelming.
He’s coming back.
Sure as spring.
Are we ready for His glorious return?
Can we picture the REAL return of the King? Christ is no novelist’s fantasy.
Jesus is coming again!
Have joy now in anticipation!
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. . . On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11,16
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:12-14