Seasons of the Soul

The sun is shining and the sky’s a brilliant blue as I open up the curtains in my home.  Maybe this would be a good day to open the windows and let fresh air in.  I slide the locks over, and raise the window wide…only to slam it shut almost immediately as bone-chilling cold enters the room.  What looks so good out my window is deceptive.  I check the weather on my computer and discover that the temperature hasn’t risen above forty this morning.  How easily I was deceived by what I saw, but it was what I felt told me the truth.  Even our eyes can deceive us.

I wonder if I can be this way as a Christian.  When people look at me and hear what I have to say, are they convinced that all is well?  Am I doing all the right things to “look like” a good Christian?   But am I being deceptive?

I know that sometimes my heart feels cold.  I lack compassion for those around me.  My patience and long-suffering are in low supply.  My strength is non-existent.  I want to pout and throw a pity party and just crawl in a hole somewhere and embrace “me”…the “me” that struggles to live in this world but not be part of it.

Have you ever been so cold that your bones ached?  I think we all go through these periods in our life, just like the changing seasons.  There are days we feel winter in our soul…where we withdraw from others to nurse our hurts and pains with tears and a warm cup of cocoa.  There are days when God reveals Himself to us and we feel spring in our steps.  There are the cozy, warm, beautiful days of summer where we relax in His Spirit and recognize His goodness all around us.  And there are the beautiful days of fall when we shine in all His glory for the world to see us at our best.

Which season are you experiencing today?  Are you embracing it or fighting it?  Just remember…no matter what the season, God is still in control.  When you can’t see Him, hear Him, feel Him, touch Him or taste the goodness of His blessings, He’s still there.  Just like the cold wind blowing outside, I cannot feel Him unless I open a window.  Have you opened a window inside your soul to allow Him in to comfort You and fill You with His strength and His knowledge to get you through this season in your soul?  He has promised in Deuteronomy 31:6  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”