Genesis 8:20-22 New King James Version
God’s Covenant with Creation
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination[a] of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
https://www.weather.gov/buf/lake1415_stormb.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_of_1977
I am a native born Buffalonian and I would not change a thing – I would not, will not, ever dream, desire, I was born in Hawaii or anywhere else warmer.
It was by God’s own design that I was born where I was born, to learn the life lessons I needed to learn that propelled my life to where and when I am now.
Let it snow, Let it snow! Me and My Shovel are always at the Ready
Yes, I still dream of a white Christmas just like the one’s I shoveled through.
No! that is not me in the photograph … but at the tender age of 15, it was this order of magnitude of snow, wind packed snow drifts in below zero temps and wind chills in the neighborhood of -60 degrees or more that I shoveled us out.
No! Snow Throwers were not of much use – getting them started in that level of cold was nearly impossible and one could not wait long outside for a hair dryer to defrost the starter and the engine to try and get the thing started to clear it.
The only option was to grab the snow shovel and quite literally, dig deep into snow banks and snow drifts that were all very much taller than our front door.
Yes! I would not hesitate to do it all over again…should it ever return to be done.
I love the snow!
I love Creator God who brings it around in whatever volume He sees fit to bring.
No! I am not crazy to feel that way…while ugly and heavy to dig out from, it sure did, looking to the trees, have a very unique beauty to it before it was shoveled.
Yes! I absolutely love the snow God brings …
Ways to See the Beauty of God Through those Dreary Winter Snows
When most of us think about Winter, we think of cold, dark, long months. Even though this is true for many places across the globe, what might change if we stop viewing Winter and all the winter snows in such a negative light?
While it is definitely cold and the days are shorter, Winter is still a beautiful season created by God. It can reveal to us God’s beauty of His wonderful uniqueness. It can remind us of God’s faithfulness to His promise as written in Genesis 8:22. God is known for remaining true and faithful to His promises.
This Winter, we need to challenge ourselves to view Winter in a new light.
In light of being reminded every year that God is forever true to His Covenant.
Genesis 8:20-22 Complete Jewish Bible
20 Noach built an altar to Adonai. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 Adonai smelled the sweet aroma, and Adonai said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done. 22 So long as the earth exists, sowing time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
No longer ought we need to hate Winter or see it as a season to rush through.
Even though Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s are over doesn’t mean that Winter doesn’t have more abundant and beautiful blessings to offer us.
As believers, we need to try to see the beauty of God, the beauty of His Creation, beauty of Winter while it is here before replaced with the first blooms of Spring.
Winter shows the beauty of God.
1. Brings Us Back to Him
Without a doubt, Winter brings us back to God.
For someone who struggles with depression, especially in the Winter months, I often find myself coming back to God.
Since times are hard and my depression is not lacking in any sense, I tend to turn to God, express my pain, and rely on Him more often than I do in the other months of the year. Depression too often gets the best of me during the Winter months, yet this is when I thoroughly believe I see God most clearly in snow.
God doesn’t think less of me when I’m struggling with depression in the Winter months nor does He withhold His comfort from me. Instead, in the white of the snow, I experience His comfort, grace, and presence even while I’m struggling.
The same goes for you. God is present with you this Winter, and every Winter.
Whether you are also prone to suffer from depression during the Winter months or not, know that He always reveals Himself, that He is with you.
Allow this truth to bring you back to Him. God can surround you with His love and bring hope back into your heart. Depression doesn’t have to be full of doom and gloom if we turn to God. He can help us to see beauty in the darker months of the year. The twinkling stars, the fresh air, and the first fall of snow are all but the smallest abundance Winter brings to us, which are all because of God.
2. His Uniqueness
The uniqueness of our wonderful God is shown through Winter.
No two snowflakes are ever exactly alike.
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is Uniquely ONE.
Even if we may be someone who doesn’t particularly like Winter, we can still appreciate God’s unique creativity in this season. Winter are the only months where we have shorter days, longer nights of stars, and snow.
While the latter can be debatable depending on where you live, most people only experience snow during the Winter months. All of these things are unique to Winter and they don’t need to be overlooked.
Maybe we don’t like the cold, but the snow won’t fall unless it is cold enough.
In the same way, maybe we don’t like the short days, but the dazzling stars wouldn’t be out as much if the sun stayed up longer. When we view things from this perspective, we can see that Winter is unique and beautiful all by itself. And ultimately, this is because God created it and everything He created is beautiful.
3. Stepping Away from Our Normal Everyday Routine
Sometimes Winter causes us to change our normal routines.
For reasons, such as snow or below freezing temperatures, some of us have to change what we normally do on a given day.
For example, I really love being outside and taking walks; however, when it is sub-freezing temperatures, it is not safe to go out. On these days, I try to do something else I enjoy, such as reading or doing bible study. If it wasn’t for Winter, I probably would have never re-discovered my love for these things.
In this way, we are shown the beauty of God in the ordinary.
Although it can still be hard to get out of our normal routine, Winter calls us to stop and step away from normalcy. By having to step away from our normalcy, we will be more prone to seeing, seeking God. His love, grace, and beautiful blessings are shown to us in Winter and helps us to see the world in a new light.
Rather than growing frustrated when we are out of our normal routines, we give thanks to God, giver of every perfect gift for the opportunities to do new things.
4. Invaluable Gift of Time to Seek God and Reflect Upon Our Life
As the days get shorter and the nights longer, we are also blessed with the gift of having time to reflect upon life. Since everything tends to move a bit slower after the holiday season and because of severe weather, we have time to sit with our bibles, the Word of God to pray to God thoughts and reflect upon our lives.
Psalm 139:23-24 Complete Jewish Bible
23 Examine me, God, and know my heart;
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is in me any hurtful way,
and lead me along the eternal way.
Sometimes this can be a great opportunity to be brought before the Lord in prayer and repentance and to bring our sins to Him. Other times, this might mean asking God for His exclusive leadership, guidance, direction on life.
Still, other times, we might find ourselves crying out to God because we don’t know what has gone wrong in our lives.
Regardless of your feelings, bring them to God. Ask Him to help you with your life going forward. He is faithful, and He can be fully trusted with the future (1 Corinthians 1:9; Psalm 33:4). Reflect upon your life this Winter and fully rely on Creator God to help you cover any missing puzzle pieces, loose ends, or regrets.
1. For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
104 Bless Adonai, my soul!
Adonai, my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with glory and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a robe.
You spread out the heavens like a curtain,
3 you laid the beams of your palace on the water.
You make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make winds your messengers,
fiery flames your servants.
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations,
never to be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep like a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they rushed away,
8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys,
down to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You determined a boundary they could not cross;
they were never to cover the earth again.
10 You make springs gush forth in the vadis;
they flow between the hills,
11 supplying water to all the wild animals;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests;
among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your palace;
the earth is satisfied with how you provide —
14 You grow grass for the cattle;
and for people you grow the plants they need
to bring forth bread from the earth,
15 wine that gladdens the human heart,
oil to make faces glow,
and food to sustain their strength.
16 Adonai’s trees are satisfied —
the cedars of the L’vanon, which he has planted.
17 In them sparrows build their nests,
while storks live in the fir trees.
18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains,
while the coneys find refuge in the rocks.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it is night,
the time when all forest animals prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, they slink away
and lie down to rest in their dens;
23 while people go out to their work,
laboring on till evening.
24 What variety there is in your works, Adonai!
How many [of them there are]!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creations.
25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide!
It teems with countless creatures,
living beings, both large and small.
26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro;
Livyatan, which you formed to play there.
27 All of them look to you
to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.
29 If you hide your face, they vanish;
if you hold back their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
30 If you send out your breath, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of Adonai last forever!
May Adonai rejoice in his works!
32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles;
when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to Adonai as long as I live,
sing praise to my God all my life.
34 May my musings be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in Adonai.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more!
Bless Adonai, my soul!
Halleluyah!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 