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Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
I heard the geese fly over the other morning as they were en route to their southern home. My heart was saddened to hear them go, for it is the forewarning that summer is ending and fall has commenced. With the commencement of autumn, winter is just around the corner.
How discouraging! I thought. I detest the cold and the long, dark days of winter. Assaulting my mind were visions of frozen windshield wipers, icy paths, layers of clothing, and awkward boots, not to mention mitts and gloves that make doing anything outside ten times harder. Yuck, yuck, yuck! Who needs winter? I have reached an age where I would be very happy to just completely skip this season. Nevertheless, it is coming, and I need to prepare myself for this fact — a fact that the geese, honking overhead, were not shy about announcing.
So, I began my preparations. I thanked God for the wonderful season of summer that we have experienced this year — definitely the most delightful one that I have ever enjoyed since moving to the north. In the glorious sunshine, our greenhouse thrived — as did the whole town, as everyone had opportunity to be out and about day after day enjoying green grass and waving wild flowers. Then, I thanked God for my cozy little home with its good furnace and storm windows, for the down parkas, mitts, and sturdy, comfortable boots, and for the invention of hand warmers that I always have in stock for those especially frigid mornings. I also envisioned the beauty of the snow, white and pristine as it drapes the boughs of trees and transforms the landscape into something wondrous. Then, I thanked God that He is my joy, my strength, and more than enough to see me through another season of winter.
Likewise, the seasons of our lives change. We go from seasons that we love and delight in, to seasons of bleakness and hardship, as our circumstances alter in a heartbeat. But amidst it all, there is one thing which never changes: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In Him, we find our joy, our strength, and our hope for the changing seasons of life, just like the seasons of nature that are ever changing from one day to the next.
Today, we might be going through a season that we are not very fond of. If so, let's cling to the promise and the hope that this season, too, will come to an end. In the meantime, Jesus is with us, and He will see us through, today, tomorrow, and forever — a promise and a fact that we can count on.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that His presence with us is indeed our joy and our strength to weather whatever season of life that we find ourselves experiencing. Help us this day to embrace this truth with hope and joy, so that we can live out the season of life that we are going through in such a way as to be an encouragement to ourselves and all those around us. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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Meaningful devotion today. Always enjoy yours.
Lynne so beautifully written and uplifting. Thank you, thank you.
Thanks Lynne, for another inspirational! Very encouraging!
Blessings.
Thank you, Lynn for encouraging us to be more positive and reliant on God in times of change.
Amen and amen! Thank you again for speaking to so many “old” hearts today.
(Tx)
Thank you. Our geese are also on the move in Manitoba. Messengers of season change for sure. Examples of getting our lives in order. Enjoy autumn.
Thank you for your encouraging words today, Lynne. I don’t look forward to either. I think I need to print this devotion out to refer to over the next few months. I can’t imagine living a life without Jesus in it! Keep writing and be blessed!
Thanks, Lynne, for your message, my favourite Bible verse Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)!
(Ontario)
Dear Lynne,
Thank you for your wonderful, honest devotional of how you feel and then how you tackle that feeling with a very encouraging and positive response. May you have a wonderful, long fall to enjoy and a very short winter to endure walking with Jesus by your side.
Good Morning Lynne,
Many thanks for another precious devotional. Yes, there are many and varied circumstances we face in life, but we can always count on the consistency and unchanging love and care of our faithful Lord.
Blessings to you for your thoughtful messages.
(B.C.)
Dear Lynne,
Thank you for writing devotionals that build up sentence by sentence in intensity of blessing.
Your summer: I’m glad it was great up north.
With love in Christ and prayers for you.
(Manitoba)
Gòd Morning Lynne
Once again, thank you for your devotional. You have such a gift for relating everyday experiences to the Divine. Your devotionals are always a blessing to my wife and I and reminder of how good our God is. Thank you. Keep well.
Blessings
(Ont.)
Hello Lynne
funny thing, just as I started to read your meaningful devotional, I too heard the geese flying over the house.
Yes, each season brings new challenges and experiences and the comfort of knowing God never changes and He is faithful and always with us.
Thank you!
God bless.
Hello Lynne,
I always enjoy your devotions.
Straight up the street from our home is a small pretty park where soon it will be white, not green. I love it others don’t. As I read your comments about the birds I smiled to you. I thank the Lord for miracles big and small. Thank you, Lynne, for your writings. God loves you and so do I.
(Ca.)
Hi Lynne,
This is such a beautifully written devotional. Your description of winter landscapes and customs painted a vivid picture in my mind. I also enjoyed reading about all the things you were grateful for. The metaphor you present is an important reminder that God is with us through all seasons of life, and that all things (especially hardship and adversity) eventually pass.
Blessings.
Oh yes! I often say that I “back into” autumn. Not wanting to face it, I look longingly behind me at what has been: summer! Just this morning I was thinking we have entered the “dark side” of the year. The seasons we have to make our own sunshine. With my walking disability, it is even more difficult than it used to be, but thankfully this winter I can walk much better than last year. It takes me a while to get my feet pointed in the right direction and face what’s coming with faith and courage and even joy. Thank you for your devotional this morning, and Robin in his ordering of things. How often they are exactly what I was talking to the Lord about, just before I read it!
Lynne
The coming of Fall with Winter just around the corner can be hard for many of us. Even though I live on Vancouver Island, I find when the temperature drops to the mid-teens, I find it hard as the cool weather affects my health in many ways. I do relish in the sound of the geese as they fly overhead, it is magnificent to see and hear them, even though I know it is a sign of the change of weather with the new season of year.
As the day goes forward we discover ways to be thankful and to spend time with the Lord that prepares us for what is ahead both in this year and in our daily walk with him and the ministry to which He has called us to with both family, friends, the larger community and our animals.
May God Bless you.
Hi Lynne and thank you once again for a thought-provoking devotion.
As we approach Thanksgiving, may we be ever thankful for all of God’s blessings, in each season of our lives, and grateful to live in the country of Canada.
Thank you and continue with your inspiring lessons.
(ON)
Hi Lynne,
Your devotional reminded me that this horrid heat in Texas will soon pass, and we will have our “pleasant” winter…sort of…sometime freezing but very seldom snow. When it gets too much for you in Canada this winter, you are welcome to come see us ANY TIME!
Your devotional, as always, is a strong reminder of our faith and the blessings of Jesus Christ as our savior. Thank you.