Snow Day Thoughts:
These rare snow days when the world is blanketed in snow, and the wind whips up a chill, can be wonderful, hilarious, infuriating, or almost magical, depending on what you had planned. With the world as it is right now, you might be spending a little more time than usual with your thoughts, with your family, and hopefully with a hot chocolate or two.
Taking the time to slow down and pay attention to the beautiful things God is doing is a great way to endure 2019’s snowpocalypse. Here are a few ideas and conversation starters if you’re on the lookout for ways to reflect on God this Sunday.
Read: Psalm 147:15-18
“He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.”
One of the ways that God has left a witness for himself is in the created world around us. The relentless driving wind, the all-encompassing snow, the biting cold, all of it reminds us that we’re not worshipping a weak or powerless God. We see his strength on display as all of creation responds to his word. Spending 30 minutes out in the snow will give anyone a healthy respect for the power God commands. Take some time today to think of the ways you’ve seen God’s power on display in the world around you. Where have you seen an example of the greatness of God in the ice, the snow, and the frost? Where have you been witness to God’s workmanship this week?
Read: Psalm 148:7-13
“7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, 8 fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! 9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! 10 Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! 12 Young men and maidens together, old men and children! 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.”
What does it mean that even the snow is praising the Lord? That every flurry of snow that dances down to Earth does so in praise of God? How does it change the way you think of the snow if you think of it as a praise song (or dance) to God? How can you join the snow, the trees, the birds, and all people and places in praising God today?
Read: Isaiah 1:18
“8 Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
If you have ever been the first one out of the house on a snowy day, you might know the particular joy of walking through a pristine stretch of snowy ground. There’s something delightful about the perfect muffled stillness of the early morning snow. That clean and undisturbed ground is like a work of art. But pretty soon your dog, your kids, your neighbors, all wander through kicking that snow into a boot-stomped mess.
Sometimes our lives can feel a lot more like that slurry than like that first sheet of freshly fallen snow. Whether it’s through the things we’ve done, the things that we’ve left undone, or even the things that have been done to us, it’s hard not to notice that on our own we’re not exactly like that freshly fallen snow. Personally, it’s a lot easier for me to identify with the slush in the middle of the road. What God says is, “Yes, your sins are like scarlet (even messier than the slush), but they will be as white as snow.”
When considering the freshly fallen snow, remember that because of Jesus’ work on your behalf, you can be counted blameless before God. (Romans 5:1-5) Because of Jesus, you and I have been made as clean, and as new, as freshly fallen snow.