The winter season often is greater than only a weather change; it’s a soul shift, and with it may well come bleak thoughts as we wade through the longer and darker days. The prolonged darkness can lull us right into a slumbering state, where getting up, getting out, and staying motivated can turn into a day by day struggle. This grayscale living may cause callouses to form in our hearts, separating us from the enjoyment of our salvation. The darkness can amplify the awful headlines, it may well heighten our anxieties around our ailing bodies, and our dark mood can lead us to isolate, pulling us away from those that spur us on in our faith journeys.
The Bible warns us against the darkness and chaos of this world that so easily can devour our hearts, leaving us feeling hardened and alone. God calls us to protect the tenderness of hearts. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for every thing you do flows from it.” Our hearts are vital to our spiritual health; we now have to be diligent to maintain our hearts open to God’s love, even in dark seasons of the soul.
Spiritual Winter Seasons
For years, as I struggled under the burden of chronic anxiety and depression, I’d tiptoe into the brand new yr with great apprehension, because it felt like every January ushered in a descent into a private battle with the oppressive darkness of Winter. It seemed the coldness of the season someway stunted the enjoyment of my soul. We all have times we feel this fashion, as sometimes our souls reflect the physical seasons, and other times, circumstances invite spiritual winter seasons. These seasons are characterised by lonely days, grief, loss, exhaustion, burnout, emotional withdrawal, anxiety, and depression.
In the Bible, we read the laments of others who, similar to us, traveled through winter seasons. David laments in Psalm 42:1-3, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I’m going and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
When our hearts are hardened, we feel removed from God, and the first query that resounds in our hearts is God, where are you! But as we ask that query, God begins the means of softening our hearts towards Him. The query is the beginning of a journey back towards God’s windfall and style. As we read the Psalms, we see how David and others express their heartbreak but then return to God’s grace. Our faith grows within the winter as we wait and wonder what God may very well be doing with the barren wasteland that’s our lives.
Hardened Hearts Threaten Our Relationship with God
When we discover ourselves stuck in a tough place, indifferent to God’s voice, withdrawing from others, and cynical, there may be great danger that we are able to fall away from God. Hebrews 2:12-13 states, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other day by day, so long as it is named “Today,” in order that none of you could be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Our hearts often deceive us. Not considered one of us is righteous on our own. When we feel the pain taking up our minds, bodies, and souls, we now have to be vigilant not to show away from the living God.
Stay encouraged, find community, and remember we don’t have the total picture, only God does. We should trust that he’ll do what he promised, which is to make all things recent in his perfect timing. We can solid our cares before him, we are able to pour our heartbreak and fears before him as an alternative of walling off our hearts to the just one who is in a position to avoid wasting us.
God Desires Softness, Not Self-Protection
God’s way goes against our every instinct. When things feel hard, the natural instinct is to drag back. When we experience loss, our natural instinct is to position the blame. When we’re hurt, our natural instinct is to shut ourselves off to the world. But God asks us to stay soft-hearted even in this difficult and chaotic world. Ezekiel 36:26 guarantees, “I offers you a recent heart and put a recent spirit in you; I’ll remove from you your heart of stone and offer you a heart of flesh.” This soft heart posture will not be something we achieve on our own. All that’s required of us is a willingness to proceed to trust God through the Winter, and he miraculously provides the flesh heart that’s required to follow God’s way.
Psalm 51:17 states, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, is not going to despise.” Brokenness doesn’t pull us away from God. It’s what we do with the broken stories that either draws us closer to his presence or removes us from our relationship with Him. Softness will not be weakness; it’s humility that invites God and others into our stories. None of us makes it out of this life without facing pain, discouragement, and hardships. To stay soft within the face of struggle is vulnerability before God in the course of the winter seasons.
Practices That Keep the Heart Tender in Winter
God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light-weight for our path (Psalm 119:105). There are persistently once we feel we’re stuck in the dead of night, unsure learn how to move forward. We need a miracle to see accurately the trail forward! God’s word is a book that gives miraculous insight for our lives. The Bible tells us that its words are alive, energetic, and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). Cling to God’s word while you feel your mind and body struggling. Some key scriptures to meditate on include Psalm 27, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:6-7, and Isaiah 41:10. Slowly study these verses, let their truths permeate your heart, and cling to the encouragement the Bible offers.
The temptation is to cover away during our winter seasons. We don’t need to be a burden to those around u,s and infrequently we don’t have the words or energy to precise our feelings. Nonetheless, the Bible reminds us that two is healthier than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), and infrequently our breakthrough begins the moment we reach out to someone who can support us. This can appear to be starting counseling, doing intentional check-ins with a friend or your partner, getting involved in a church small group, or inviting others to share an activity with you, equivalent to walking together.
Even in our darkest hour, there are things we are able to be grateful for. Oftentimes, we get fixated on the negative, which ends up in bitterness and hurt, but an easy change in perspective can change every thing. Choosing to give attention to your blessings, on the easy joys life offers, and the ways God has been good to you may also help to melt your heart. Journaling and praying with gratitude for God’s faithfulness has the ability to rework your heart.
Get outside your circumstances by taking time to serve others. We often only see our own pain, but people throughout us are struggling too! Keep your heart outward-facing through a dedication to kindness and repair to others. Galatians 6:9 reminds us to not get weary in doing good. Even when it feels hard to do good, by God’s grace, we are able to stay the course!
Remember, winter doesn’t last eternally. Seasons come and go, and our current hardship is not going to last eternally. Grief lessens over time, hope breaks the chains of despair, and mercy ushers in recent life. Be patient, trusting God’s timing and in search of his lessons in each a part of your story. Nothing is wasted once we are children of God. Often God grows deep roots in us through our winter seasons.
Choosing Softness Daily
Remember, the center is something we now have to protect in every season of life. When we turn into discouraged, apathetic, distracted, or disengaged, sin can quickly take root in our lives. Bitterness, numbness, and isolation are powerful strategies the enemy of our souls utilizes to sideline us from the work the Lord has called us to do here within the land of the living. Thankfully, God is so gracious and meets us within the winter, preparing us for the renewal that’s promised within the spring season. The best is yet to come back.
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