Saturday, January 19, 2013

Melting The Snow

We got about three inches of snow in my community a couple of days ago.  Although it may not sound like much to most people who live in the United States,  to those of us who live just north of Birmingham, Alabama, it's a big deal.  In our area, we maybe get a significant snow about two times a year (sometimes never).  But, when it does snow, schools close, people scurry to the stores to buy milk and bread (don't know why because we rarely lose our power due to winter weather) and motor vehicle accidents abound as drivers attempt to navigate on slippery roads.  Local TV stations provide wall-to-wall coverage as the snow engulfs our area, giving continuous updates until the last snowflake has fallen.

That was two days ago.  Today the high was in the low 50's.  As a result, I decided to go jogging in my neighborhood, a frequent occurrence when weather conditions are favorable.  As I was running, I noticed a few rooftops were still covered with significant snow.  The entire roofs were not blanketed with snow, mind you, just the areas that the sun had not been able to penetrate.  I recognized that, in order for the snow to melt, it would take one or two phenomena to occur.  First, the sun would have to reach the snowy areas to begin the melting process.  Second, if the sun couldn't shine on these areas, just an overall increase in the temperature would do the trick.

Come to think of it, we all have cold areas in our lives or snow that needs to be melted away.  The snow could be something like bitterness, unforgiveness, worldliness, anger, hate, etc.  Basically, the snow could be whatever area of our lives that does not resonate the warmth of God's love.  So, how does the Heavenly Father get to these areas?  He turns up the heat in the form of trials or tribulations.  This heat could be financial difficulties, job struggles, or, as I strongly believe, physical  sickness.  Although the heat is painful, it ultimately points us to God in perhaps ways we have never seen Him before.  David mentions this in Psalms 119:71, proclaiming, "It was good that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes."

Ultimately, it's painful having snow melt in our lives.  Yet, God in His wisdom, sometimes uses our deepest hurts (such as cancer) to penetrate down to the inner recesses of our souls.

   

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