Winter Joy
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
Psalm 42:5
I like living where there are four seasons. But even though I like settling down with a good book by a crackling fire when it is snowing or raining hard, I must admit that my enjoyment for the seasons grows a little dim when the long gray days of winter drone on into February.
Yet regardless of the weather, there is always something special about winter: Christmas! Thankfully, long after the decorations are down, the reality of Christmas still lifts my spirit no matter what is happening.
If it were not for the reality of Christ’s birth, not only would winter be dark and dreary, but our hearts would be bleak and have nothing to hope for. No hope for the freedom from guilt and judgement. No hope of His reassuring and strengthening presence through dark and difficult times. No hope for a future secured in Heaven.
In the winter of a troubled life, the psalmist asked, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” The remedy was clear: “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps. 42:5).
In C. S. Lewis’ tales of Narnia, Mr. Tumnus complains that in Narnia it is “always winter and never Christmas.” But for those of us who know the God who made the seasons, it is always Christmas in our hearts!
Bible Reading
Psalm 42.
Prayer
Lord of creation, and Father of all mankind, thank You for Your creation, for the seasons, for Christmas and the birth of Your Son, my Redeemer. Amen.
Comentarios