May 21, 2025
Winter of The Soul
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Spring has always been my favorite time of the year. There are so many things to look forward to. Warmer days. Breaking out the short sleeves. The sun setting later in the day. Flowers and trees in bloom. As a sports fan, throw in March Madness and The Masters. What’s not to love about the spring?
As someone who lives in the South, I know it’s comical to complain about winters because we really don’t have winters like our friends in the North and the Midwest. But this last one seemed more “wintry” than others - like it just didn’t want to let go. January, in particular, felt like it had 4,514 days in it. There are times where the harshness of winter seems like it will never subside.
There are, of course, benefits to winter. Dormancy is a necessary part of plant life. Winter can be a time of rest and renewal for many animals. Those irritating pests so prevalent in the summer - flies, ticks, spiders, snakes, etc. - seem to go away or at least get thinned out. The falling of the leaves remind us of the importance of letting go and the beauty of a fresh snowfall gives us hints of purification and renewal. And winter is certainly a time of preparation, planning and gearing up for when the warm weather returns.
Just as we have changing seasons, there are also changing seasons of the soul. We all love the spring of the soul, where there is growth and newness and renewed hope, or the summer of the soul, when things are really in full bloom and it feels like we’re perpetually on a mountain top experience. But as Robert Frost reminded us, Nothing Gold Can Stay. Sooner or later the fall of the soul begins to rear its head, when there is still beauty, but things are slowly fading and you can feel the exhaustion setting in.
And then there’s the winter of the soul, when life feels barren, God feels distant, there’s pain and darkness and you don’t know when this feeling will end.
To be honest, I feel like I’ve been experiencing the winter of the soul for quite some time. For me, it’s been precipitated by a lack of margin in my life and just a number of heavy events that our family has had to walk through. Frankly, I’m exhausted and even though I can see the literal seasons changing, this winter of the soul seems to have no end in sight.
Maybe you can relate. Different things lead us here. It could be willful sin and disobedience or it could just be circumstances and life coming at you fast.
Whatever has gotten you to this point, it’s important to realize that - just like there’s purpose in each of the actual seasons- there’s purpose in these seasons of the soul.
If you’re experiencing the winter of the soul, you can know with certainty that God is allowing it to get your attention. C.S. Lewis said, “Pain is God’s megaphone.” He is allowing this stark, cold season of your soul to gain your attention and draw you back to Him.
If there’s willful sin and disobedience in your life, God is calling you to renewal. He’s calling you to repentance.
Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “be still and know that I am God.” In a previous devotion, we learned that this verse literally means to be quiet and stop arguing and listen to the words of the Holy Spirit, convicting you, counseling you and comforting you. In the winter of the soul, be quiet and listen and make the changes He’s showing you to make.
For me, it may be finding margin in my life and making the necessary changes to do so. Or letting go of my family’s health issues and trusting Him more.
God wants us to rest in Him. Don’t try to rush through this season. Obviously, don’t delay repentance, but I mean don’t try to hurry along this season of the winter of the soul. It will end in its time - usually when you have learned what the Lord is trying to show you.
This is going to sound like a contradiction but learn to rest in the Lord, but be active in your preparation. I’ll probably say this 100 times along the way but waiting time isn’t wasted time. Be preparing for when this season ends. It will end. I promise. And you’ll want to be prepared to take full advantage as you move into the spring of the soul.
So how do you rest in the Lord and be active at the same time? You rest in Him. You seek comfort and renewal in Him. But you can pray and worship the Lord and plan and prepare. It may even involve fasting.
When Nehemiah heard of the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem, that was a winter of the soul moment for him. He grieved and prayed and sought the Lord and fasted and planned for what he could do about it. Then when he was presented the opportunity, he was ready to spring into action.
Let go of whatever has gotten you to this point. You can’t change what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, but you can let go of the hurt, let go of the shame and regret. In sports, there is an adage that you don’t let a loss beat you twice. Sometimes in sports, your team will have a heart-breaking loss and will dwell on it so much that it lingers into the next game and we’re so fixated on it that it ends up beating us in the next game too. That’s the way life is. Until we learn to let go, we’ll be beaten over and over by the same mistake.
Learn your lessons from the winter of the soul, rest in Him, plan and prepare for the coming spring and let go of your past.