Winter Is Coming!

I know, it’s finally spring!!!  The birds, the sun, the fresh air, the rain showers, green grass, flower blossoms!  All of the physical signs of growth, renewal, and flourishing…it’s a BEAUTIFUL playground of deliciousness outside!

While the season of winter–the one containing snow, ice, plummeting temperatures, and dormant plants–is behind us, we’re talking about winter today in a different sense.

Our brains are wired to be linear just like time that ticks by on a clock.  But the reality of our human essence is that we live in cycles.  There is evidence of this all around us.  Even in just one day of living we move through the seasons with winter represented by the sleep cycle.

When life’s personal season of winter comes to visit–the ones filled with adversity, challenge, and a falling away of things we might not want to release, this is the hardest season to traverse.  Winter brings the illusion of stunted growth, of lack or losing, and quite honestly it’s uncomfortable!  Trees teach us the beauty that winter holds as they lose their leaves without complaining “I’m not tree enough to have leaves right now”.  Their roots continue to grow and remain strong.  What is happening is happening inside and beneath the surface; it’s not seen by the naked eye.  The tree doesn’t make the winter season mean anything about it.  Instead the tree moves through the season taking care of itself on the inside and then it grows taller, stronger, and bares more fruit in the next season.

Our seasons of winter are the same–they bring us the opportunity to fortify our mental, emotional, and spiritual tenacity.  Things that can’t be seen but rather felt.  The inner strength that does so much more for us in every area of life.

1. The first temptation Jesus encountered was to turn stone to bread. After fasting, how alluring would it be to instantly have something immediate to eat?! Instant gratification can drive many of our desires. When we’re in a season of winter and faced with adversity it’s uncomfortable! Soothing ourselves with fruitless gratifications such as food, drinking, shopping, social media, etc can be such an instinctual response. What we learn from this temptation is mental discipline. When we fast, our bodies can physically feel depleted and hungry. Yet with self-discipline and mental tenacity, the overwhelming hunger can fade to a dull desire simply with the thoughts we choose to think. Our minds and thoughts are so powerful when aligned with the truths of God.
2. The second temptation was the allure of power, control, and authority. When faced with a winter season we yearn for the ability to take control of the situation and end the discomfort. But what we gain from cultivating emotional resiliency by getting comfortable in the discomfort is worth our personal refinement! We don’t have to resign to feeling lack when walking through life’s challenges. Winter is simply a season of less, not lack.  Less sunshine, but the sun isn’t lacking.  Less daylight, but light isn’t lacking.  Less grass, trees, and flowers, but nature isn’t lacking.  One of the best ways to elevate our emotional state and ditch negative feelings is through serving others. Research shows serving others can reduce blood pressure, alleviate stress, and even extend the life of the person who is offering help! But I challenge you to consider RECEIVING help as serving and even ASK for help when you need it. Release the misperceptions that needing help makes you weak, needy, inadequate, or not enough. You are giving a huge gift to the person who is serving you. And let’s be honest, if no one ever received the help that was being offered, it would be impossible to serve.
3. The final temptation was for Jesus to throw himself down from the Pinnacle of the Temple KNOWING he’d be saved. Please stop and imagine for just a moment the level of faith that’s required to know that you will be saved in a situation such as this?!?! Amidst the desolate winter seasons of life where we don’t see growth or forward progress happening before our eyes, it can require this same level of faith to believe that our circumstances are being worked for good. And while the huge supernatural miracles make it easy to believe in God, it’s in these difficult times meaningful faith is created. This deep fortification of your spirit and faith lights your path out of the desert.