(Today’s post was proofread by Aneah Epshteyn)
I never fully appreciated the beauty and hope of spring until I’d experienced my first mid-western winter. I can easily bear it when the weather first turns cold, skies darken, temperatures drop, and wind turns brisk. I can even admire that first covering of snow, with its innumerable tiny ice crystals glimmering in the early morning sun like glitter spread across the otherwise bleak landscape.
By February, however, I find it harder to fight against the blanket of gloom invading my space. And, today is March. Wind howls outside my office window, and I can barely see the sun hiding behind a mass of wool-like gray. But then comes the promise, spoken by my husband—vacation is coming! And suddenly, the chill feels a bit more bearable, the wind more muted, and the glow behind the clouds brighter, somehow. More sunshine is certain to prevail.
Hope is a beautiful, soul-bolstering thing able to speak strength into the weariest hearts. Perhaps this is why, during one particularly painful season, God drew me to His promise, recorded in Isaiah 55:12-13, which states:
“You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever” (NIV).
He first spoke these words to the people of Judah, prior to what scholars refer to as the Babylonian captivity—a time when the ancient Israelites would see their sacred temple and beloved homeland destroyed, and they and their families carted off to a foreign land.
Seemingly forgotten. Abandoned to their long, cold winter.
But through the words of Isaiah, God promised that spring was indeed coming. One day, they would go out in joy and He Himself would lead them in peace. Where once destruction in the form of thornbushes, they would now find thriving trees with purple berries. In place of prickly briers, delicate white flowers would greet them.
Why? Because the people of Judah were the Lord’s renown, His chosen children, His beloved, and He would once again plant a song of praise in their hearts.
Jesus reiterated this promise in John 10:10 when He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV).
These words remind me of the phrase, “led forth,” in Isaiah, and the importance of seeking, wholeheartedly after God—in pleasant seasons and in pain. Knowing a thief lurks about, whispering lies in our ears, tempting us to believe the dark clouds hovering above us will never lift.
Tempting us to abandon hope.
To give in to despair.
Yet, deep in our weary hearts, may we listen for another voice—the words of our loving and gentle Savior, urging us to keep watch for spring.
On a practical note, the harder one’s current season, the more important it is to reflect upon and create things to look forward. Reflect–on promises of God’s goodness and faithfulness and on gifts, such as special relationships, He’s already provided. Create-intentionally schedule pleasant activities into your day or week. If your current gloom feels so heavy, nothing seems pleasant, intentionally schedule activities that once felt pleasurable. And, find ways to laugh, whenever and however you can. (Clean comedy clips on YouTube can help wiith that.)
