Here  in the deep South, we don’t exactly have what you would call Winter. We don’t actually have four seasons. There are really only variations of Summer and Fall. For many people, this is a bit confusing. But that is Southern living. I’m totally okay with that, though. I don’t do snow!

While our geographical location may be a determining factor for what type of season we experience, spiritually speaking, that is not the case.

Spiritual seasons occur no matter where we live. These seasons come and these seasons go. They are constantly changing. It doesn’t matter where we live or how old we are.

I have spoken with so many of my friends recently, who feel dry and empty. They’re not enthusiastic about anything. They feel drained and unimportant. They feel small. They feel disconnected from community. They feel distant from God. They’re experiencing a spiritual season of winter.

If this perhaps describes how you are feeling, I don’t have all of the answers, but what I do know is that no season lasts forever. And after winter, comes Spring.

God Wants to Do Something New

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” {Isaiah 43:19}

Although God never changes, His work in our lives often does. The way He moved in our past circumstances will not necessarily be the way that He will move in our current or future ones. There comes a time in our relationship with Him when He calls us to set aside our old thinking and old ways.

It’s hard, but it’s the only way He can bring us into the new thing He wants to do in our lives. It’s a process. And it takes time. But God is so patient with us. He doesn’t waste those wilderness, wasteland moments. He often uses them to usher us into the next place of promise and to encourage those around us who are walking through the same thing.

New Seasons Are a Time for Growth

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” {Matthew 5:6}

Growth is what the Lord is after in our lives. He never desires for us to be stagnant in our faith. The nice thing about growth is that we get to work together with God for this growth. Too often in today’s culture, we move at such a high-speed pace, we don’t slow down enough to realize our need for God. We become incredibly self-reliant and self-sufficient. We want to know what’s coming next, so we take control of every situation.

We need to stir up a depth of hunger and thirst for the Lord that cannot be quenched by any other thing. That is our part in this work for growth. This verse in Matthew is a guarantee from God. When we prioritize Him first and do everything to bring Him honor, He blesses us with a rich satisfaction in Himself. There is always something new that we can learn about God, ourselves, and the work He is doing on the earth.

We can always go deeper. He can always take us deeper.

Hold On To Hope

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” {Philippians 1:6}

In this verse, Paul is exhorting the church at Philippi. He is thanking them for their care and support while also acknowledging their hardships. We will have Winter seasons. We will feel discouraged. We will feel lonely. We will feel far from the Lord.

But know that we are not! He is our hope. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will never give up on us. There is no sin so great or despair so profound or Winter so barren that the Lord cannot reach you. His arm is indeed mighty to save.

The Lord is near to your broken heart.

The Lord cares for all that concerns you.

The Lord is doing a new work in you.

The Lord is bringing you into Spring.

Are you in a spiritual Winter? Are you hopeful that God is bringing you into Spring?

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There is no sin so great or despair so profound or Winter so barren that the Lord cannot reach you. {Tweet this!}

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