“My Beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
    and come away,
for behold, the winter is past;
    the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
    and come away.'”

~ Song of Solomon 2

Years ago, a prophetic gentleman I know spoke this passage over me. It was beautiful. He said the Lord was saying to Him, It’s Summer’s time — and it’s something I remember to this day.

The Holy Spirit has reminded me continuously of this passage as of late, as spring was starting. I feel like He’s been saying to me…

It’s a new day. The pain of the past is gone. I’m doing a new thing. Breathe easy… and get excited! Anticipate what I may do in the days to come. 

What Season Is It?

The reality is, there is a time & season for everything, as it is written in Ecclesiastes 3 —

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace….

He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Seasons comes & seasons go, but it’s important to know which one we’re in so we don’t stay stuck when God’s trying to move us onto the next! Biblically, we’re encouraged to discern the times:

“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” ~ Luke 12

I don’t know what you’ve been walking through in recent months {or years}, but I know a LOT of people have been carrying heavy burdens. It’s felt a lot like winter for many — the freezing temperatures, the frozen ground, the need for layers & layers of protection from the reality of daily life. Many (including myself) have felt a deadness in parts of our lives, of things we’ve let go of because they felt long gone, the dryest of dry bones!

Winter is part of life, but you know what’s right after? Yep — every year, the same snow that freezes the ground & blocks all living things melts & waters the soil for new life to spring up! It’s in spring we learn that the earth wasn’t dead all winter — it was dormant, waiting for life to begin again.

Our pastor recently spoke about this phenomena in our lives, saying, “God doesn’t bury people. He sows them!” Each person is a seed He plants, which awaits its spring day — its time.

What if He’s saying to you & I that that day is now?

His Light & Easy Yoke

I’m reminded of Jesus’s gentle words to us… My yoke is easy and my burden is light. If Jesus Himself could speak of lightness — the One who walked with the weight of the world on His shoulders — we can be comforted knowing God is working on our behalf to bring life to our dead places.

The “light” and “easy yoke” come from knowing that we don’t have to make things happen FOR God. Not even Jesus Himself ‘made it happen’ in His own life. He didn’t raise Himself from the dead; God did! Likewise, we can’t resurrect ourselves, our dead dreams, or our life’s wintry-leftovers. Our Heavenly Father must do that, and He promises to in Romans 8!

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Today I feel like God is saying to us: Your winter is past; the rain has dried up. Flowers are budding ~ can’t you see them in your life? I’m moving you past the deadness. I’m causing what was dead to come to life again! 🙂

GET EXCITED. Winter is over, & spring is here! Flowers bloom, birds are singing, and the Lord is doing new things every day! He’s doing something brand-new in your life, in your family, in your provision, in your life’s purpose, in your relationships, in your heart & mind. He’s doing it in mine, too. Yay!

I’ll leave you with this little message from the wonderful, beloved teacher Beth Moore. She tweeted this recently (on March 26th), and I found great encouragement in it:

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one… winter is past.-What you’ve been through may have nearly killed you. But you’re not dead. Behold Spring.” ~Beth Moore