“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle.”
Unknown
We all experience winter seasons in our lives when adversity stares us in the face. A few weeks ago I wrote about what seeds not to plant within your heart because if you do, hopelessness will be harvested. Today’s post is about which seeds to plant so that your heart produces hope even while a winter season is raging all around you. Plant these seeds:
1. Grieve your loss. Get the pain out. Acknowledge your disappointment to God.
I had P.T.S.D. upon returning from Afghanistan in 1995. If I didn’t get my pain out on my own initiative, it would come out when I least expected it.
2. Tell yourself the truth. Replace the lies you believe with the Word of God.
3. Fix your gaze on Jesus, not on the problem. He is our solution, our hope.
My hope is in You, Lord. You are my Springtime.
4. Focus on today, so you’re not overwhelmed. Realize God’s redemptive purpose.
5. Lay your longings on the altar. Surrender your desires to God and His sovereignty.
6. Embrace and accept the winter season.
7. Spend time in God’s Presence. Sit still listening to His voice.
8. Ask the God of hope to fill you with all joy and peace AS you trust in Him. (Romans 15:13)
9. Spend time thanking God even when you don’t feel like it. Thankfulness is a choice.
Habakkuk 3:17-18: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
10. Let the Body of Christ minister to you. Share your heart with those you trust/receive prayer.
11. Remember who God is and what He has done on your behalf. Dwell on His faithfulness.
12. Believe in God’s resurrection power. Realize NOTHING is impossible with God.
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” (Romans 4:18-21)
If you plant these seeds, hope will spring up within your heart, even though it’s bitterly cold outside. What miracle is God intending to birth under your own cloak of winter?
“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring.”
Bern Williams
Relevant Reflections:
1. Which of these seeds of hope do you need to plant within your heart?
2. Write out a personalized version of Habakkuk 3:17-18.