There just seems to be so much going on in our lives, Father. Please help me to first focus on our time together. And then, as the days go on, I would ask that You enable me to prioritize the many other things that need to be accomplished. Amen.

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Interestingly, the way our house sits, when we get snow, there is almost always a part of our yard where the snow stays longer than pretty much anywhere else in the yard. The reason is that the back of our house never gets direct sunlight. This is a picture from today – highs yesterday were in the 40s, and today they are in the 50s. The far end has melted in that the wind blew almost all of it away, so there wasn’t much left to melt.

My question today is, are there things in our lives that we keep in such a way that the warmth of God’s Son cannot reach? We think we can get away with it, but Hebrews 4:13 tells us the truth. It says,

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. NIV

Maybe there are things nobody knows about that we keep tucked away, safe and sound – our thoughts, dreams, and fantasies. Some are probably harmless enough, but others can be dangerous to our well-being on many fronts, especially from a spiritual perspective.

Maybe there are mindsets that we have firmly locked into place, and our Lord has approached us on numerous occasions to let them go, and time and again, we refuse. Maybe it is a prejudice against someone or a group of people – we don’t like them and don’t want anything to do with them. Nobody needs to know…we’re just really good about keeping our distance…about hiding behind things more noticeable. Our “adversaries” may not even realize how we think about them, but the cold shoulders we turn to them only harm us.

Maybe we are much more forthright in expressing our disdain. We feel we can justify our coldness, for they have brought it on themselves. We were deeply hurt; they do not deserve love or compassion. They deserve to be frozen out, and the Lord, the gentleman He is, will not force us to yield. Though He desires to “thaw” us out with the warmth of His love permeating us to the core of our soul, He allows us to make our choice, though we are hurt by our actions and our relationships with Him and others are significantly impacted.

Over time, the snow behind my house goes away. The more the atmosphere warms up, the less the snow can hold out. Lord Jesus, may we feel the need to spend time with you in copious amounts. We may be stubborn, but over time, our association with You will cause our frozen hearts to melt as we are filled with the warmth of Your love.

Feb 21st, 2024, Wed, 12:33 pm