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Spring will come, the grass will grow

Where yesterday was ice and snow.

The flowers will bloom, the birds will sing,

The sun will shine, warming everything.

Is anyone else looking forward to spring getting here? From my viewpoint, it seems like it has been a long winter. Compared to those living farther North, St. Louis winters are actually rather mild. Our unique “weather pattern,” however, gives us a rollercoaster of weather – from cold – to warm – to very cold. It first teases us then gives us a good, hard slap! Perhaps it’s my age, but it seems like there has been a lot of sickness this past winter (colds, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.). I guess we could all get together and have one big “Pity-Party.” But, we know winter is almost over and spring is just around the corner! It’s not only a time of “renewal” for nature, but also for us!

The Apostle Paul knew something about needing “renewal.” He had a long list of hardships, including being stoned, shipwrecked, snake-bitten, and imprisoned. He learned the secret of being renewed through the “winters of life!” This is what he had to say about it:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”.

These are wonderful verses. As we grow older, we sort of begin to die out as far as the body is concerned. However, we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. I said to my wife no later than yesterday, “I wish that I were thirty–five years old and knew what I know now.” This old body that I have is dying. I can tell it all over. I'm ready to trade it in on a new model. It is beginning to waste away, but the inward man is renewed day by day. Down here we seem to have a lot of trouble and, my, it does seem to last a long time, doesn't it? It seems so hard. But, when we begin to measure it by the weight of glory that is coming someday, it is a light affliction compared to that weight of glory.

I remember reading a story about a dying man who insisted when they laid him in the casket to place a fork in his hand. He explained, “At the end of a meal when the dinner plates were being taken away, my mother would tell us to keep our forks, because something better was coming! I may be leaving this old world, but I know something better is coming!”

The thought of spring helps us to make it through the winter, but regardless of the weather or circumstances, we can always know “something better is coming!” In another scripture Paul says:

Ephesians_4:23 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”

I’ve referred to it before as having a “Heavenly viewpoint” versus a “Worldly viewpoint!”

With a worldly viewpoint, we tend to focus on the “here and now” and end up having a pity party for ourselves. With a heavenly viewpoint, we know that whatever we are going through today is only temporary. “This too shall pass!” We have a blessed hope that we will experience glory with our Savior for eternity!

Colossians_3:10 “And having put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”

A person who hasn’t accepted Christ as their Savior doesn’t have the knowledge of this “eternal hope.” Therefore, they live in a “here and now” broken world where almost every hardship is a crisis! As Christians, we need to share our knowledge and demonstrate our faith as we pass on to others God’s peace that the world cannot give!

I love the “hope” the following scriptures give:

1 Corinthians 2:9: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Isaiah 64:4: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waits for him.”

Revelation 21:4-5: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

This is the glory we have waiting for us! It makes whatever we are going through now trivial and temporary. Thank you, Lord, for this “Blessed Hope.”

I am writing this as an encouragement to anyone reading this—and to myself! Does all this mean that a Christian never gets discouraged, or weary of life’s problems? No, we are all human, with emotions and anxieties, but when we do start feeling sorry for ourselves, we need to read God’s word and “renew” our minds.

I know that spring will come, and I know someday I will have a “glorified body.” With that hope, I can look forward! “Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just Because He Lives.”

When spring does arrive, we won’t spend a lot of time thinking about the past winter. And, someday, all the ailments, trials, and anxieties of this world will all be forgotten!

Isaiah 65:17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind."

I hope this is an encouragement to you. Writing it has helped me “renew” my mind and focus on God’s promises.

God Bless, Dan