This post was given to me by co-worker Debbie Sanders who got the revelation from God in the same way He speaks to my Spirit.  I am glad to share this in the hopes it will encourage someone to hang on during the “winter” seasons of their lives and focus on the coming Spring.

Don’t Die In Winter 

For quite some time the Lord has been speaking to me about something that many people may or may not be aware of; and that is that more people die in the winter months in our area more than any other time of the year, especially the elderly.  I know this because I work at an agency where our services are for the elderly and this is a fact we all know, as we see firsthand those we serve die more in the winter season.

As I was thinking about this, the Lord spoke to my heart about this physical fact as related to a Spiritual lesson.  What happens in the winter in the natural?  There are more days of gray skies than sunshine in the winter, the temperatures are usually for the most part much colder and people stay indoors more.  These are all factual statements, so what in the world does that have to do with the Spiritual lesson here?

We all go through winter, both in the natural and in our spiritual lives. Spiritually, there are times when there are more gray skies than sunshine, times of difficulty and turmoil where it feels as if the SON isn’t shining in your life.  But just like the winter sun, while still there, it is hidden behind the clouds.  The SON is never not there; He is just hidden behind the clouds all our problems, because we allow those problems to be our focus.  Think about this.  If this is my problem, (actually hold something in front of your face), and this is my continuing focus, what else can I see?  NOTHING, ONLY MY PROBLEM, not Jesus! We take our eyes off of Jesus in those “cloudy, gray days” and we become disconnected with the One who came to set us free.  Not because He has moved, but we have allowed something to come in and change our focus.

In the winter, the temperatures are usually colder, sometimes they are freezing.  Spiritually we become colder and sometimes we just freeze up.  We become so cold and indifferent to the things of God that no amount of encouragement or kind words can bring us around because, again, we have allowed the gray skies and cold temperatures to affect us to the point that nothing moves us.  I know this, I have been there.  Have you?

In the winter we stay indoors, spiritually, we pull ourselves away, we decide we don’t want anyone around, don’t need anyone and we sure don’t want the Spirit speaking anything to our heart and mind that may cause us to see that we need to change!

In the natural, there is not much we can do about any of these elements of fact; it is colder, more gray skies, and we stay in because of the weather and the cold.  But spiritually it can be very different.  You may ask why does it matter? Remember the first fact I stated?  More people die in the winter.  Again in the natural, there’s not much we can change about that, but I would say to you now, “don’t die in the winter.” Not speaking physically but spiritually.  What is happening in your life at this time that is causing the difficulties, the turmoil?  Are you constantly focusing on those; your gray skies?  Have you pulled yourself away from others of like precious faith where you can be nurtured and comforted, but instead choose to not want to be around anyone because of how you feel?  The poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island entire unto himself.”, a spiritual truth.  The word tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, not because God needs us to be in church, but because we need to be in church.  To have our faith encouraged, to hear the truth of the word of God and be in fellowship with one another, because we are not an island!  God never intended us to be, but just as soon as we have difficulties, that seems to be the first course of action; to pull ourselves away.  Does it ever occur to us that is a ploy of the enemy, to bring things on us and then make us think we need to go it alone because, “no one really cares anyway”. That is what he tells us, isn’t it?  But remember he is a liar and the father of all lies, the truth is not in him.

So, while we cannot change the natural order or fact that more people die in the winter, we can change our winter spiritually speaking.  The gray skies can become as bright as the noonday sun IF WE ALLOW THE SON, Jesus, to come into our hearts and minds filling us with the warmth of His love and change us.  Yes, it is winter outside, but it doesn’t have to be winter in here, in our hearts.  Jesus is here, his love is shining on us if we allow it and the difficulties and problems that we are so focused on may not immediately go away, but with Jesus, He will take us through any difficulty and give us a warm, clear path to travel.  Allow the SON to shine in your life and on your situation.  And, DON’T DIE IN THE WINTER!