The Winter That Will Not End!

The past couple of days, I’ve been singing to myself a little song, “This is the winter that never ends; and it goes on and on my friends….”  (Some of you may recognize it as a play off of the kids’ song, “The Song That Never Ends.”)  That is the way I, and I know many of you, have been feeling.  It seems like the cold and the snow will just not go away. We get one glimpse of a day close to 50 degrees and the next day we end up with the temperatures plummeting and more snow.  Yes, it feels like the winter that will not end! 

In reality, however, we all know that winter will come to an end. In another few weeks, if all goes according to the normal plan of nature, we will begin to see signs of spring. A robin will show up in the back yard. The crocus will begin to break through the hardened ground. Buds will begin to appear on the trees.  In about another month, the snow will be gone and everything will be turning green once again.  That does not mean there will be no more cold days or nights. Nor, does it mean that we will not have anymore snow. But the trend will soon switch over from more and more winter, towards spring and then eventually summer (when we just might be complaining about the heat!).

Too often our lives can feel like a winter that will not end.  One negative thing happens after another that makes us feel like we are living in a world, “where it is always winter but never Christmas” (as per C.S. Lewis).  Every so often we may taste a bit of the warmth of things hoped for, but just as quickly we are plunged back into the cold of reality.  Thus, we are tempted to give into sadness and even despair. The winter blues, as they are called, begin to hit and we begin to lose hope. Our lives feel like a winter that will not end. 

But, I want to remind us today that spring is on its way! The Bible tells us that Jesus came as light and life. He came bringing us the hope that our lives will not always remain as they are.  We have been promised that through Jesus Christ, one day all the bad things of this life will one day give way to eternal life in the light of God’s presence.  Our lives will be changed. Our world will be changed. Thus, we can live with the hope that we will not live forever in what feels like a never-ending winter.  A new day is coming! A new life is coming! Spring is on its way!

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19 – NIV)

“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5 – NIV)

It will not be winter forever—not in your life, not in our world. God has promised us that through Jesus, one day, everything will be made new. Spring is on its way! 

Have a great day!  (And, stay warm!)

Pastor Tim Harris

www.pifny.org