*This post originally ran on 11/28/2018
5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. – Psalms 100:5
Winter in Ohio makes it difficult to believe in the goodness of God. The cold pierces our midwestern exterior in a way that burdens and rarely tarries. It weighs on shoulders and minds until those rare 50 degree days come out of the blue like gifts from above. Even days like those are met with pessimism knowing that in this heart shaped territory, any season is possible in a 24 hour period.
Hope is countercultural. It’s upside down. Many of us wish to believe in good; to believe in the better things, but life has taught us differently. Without recognizing, we have given sin it’s crown. We let it win when we disregard an active hope. The stark truth is that it is easier to believe in the devil than it is to believe in a savior. Because we live on hope, or the ridiculous belief that things will get better, we wait patiently in the broken fragments of reality. Faith takes grit. It is not for the faint or those who simply want to feel better. Our Lord offers something deeper than mere showroom affection. His is a dedication that surpasses circumstance and time, and while it sometimes feels more like a whisper than a hug, it is there.
To believe this is to rage against the winter.
May His steadfast love cover you like a blanket.
May His grace pierce through the flurries.
Winter is a time for reflection. It causes us to look inward, and thus it can cause immense melancholy. Fear not these feelings, nor try to write them off into the carols and trim of the holiday. Feel them this year and every weighted edge. Know that in the struggle is something greater. He is coming, has come, and will come again.
Matt simon blog 