My soul, begin this winter month with your God. The cold snow and the piercing wind remind you that he keeps his covenant with day and night. And if he is faithful to the seasons, surely he will keep that glorious covenant he has made with you in Christ Jesus. The God who never fails to bring winter and summer to this broken, sin-polluted world will never fail in his promises to his beloved Son.

Winter in the soul is never comfortable. If that's where you are right now, I know it hurts. But here is your comfort: the Lord makes winter too. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation. He scatters frost like ashes over meadows that once bloomed with joy. He casts forth his ice like morsels, freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all! He is the great Winter King, and he rules in the realms of frost. Therefore you cannot murmur.

Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills come from the Lord's hand. And they come with wise design. Think about it: frost kills noxious insects and puts a bound to raging diseases. It breaks up the clods and sweetens the soil for spring. Oh, that our winters of affliction would always yield such fruit!

How we prize the fire just now! How pleasant is its cheerful glow! In the same way, let us prize our Lord, who is our constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Draw near to him. Find your joy and peace in believing. Wrap yourself in the warm garments of his promises.

And then? Go forth to labors which befit the season! Don't be like the sluggard who will not plow by reason of the cold—he shall beg in harvest and have nothing.