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Isaiah 55.10-11

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

We’ve seen plenty of snow lately. It’s beautiful when it’s falling but then it starts to get messy and we get tired of it. We just want it to melt and go away. We look for warmer weather and we spread the snow out hoping it will just melt away. What was the purpose of the snow anyway? All that it does is make traveling harder and all the work we have to do to move it around hurts our backs. I guess playing in the snow was good for our kids and sledding is fun. If we go further we do need the moisture in the ground and that will help our plants to grow.

We were given God’s word through his son. Jesus came to us to teach and to show us the way. He endured ridicule and testing. Some couldn’t see the reason that he was here. Others followed him and their lives were changed, much like the plants. He spent his entire time on earth teaching in one way or another. He couldn’t go back to his Father until his purpose had been fulfilled. His purpose was fulfilled by his death and resurrection so that we may live.

We need to remember when we see the snow or rain that it does have a purpose and we just need to wait. The good news is that Jesus died so that the wait could be over for us and we will have eternal life because of that.

Psalm 43:3-6

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,* and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; * and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?

Put your trust in God; * for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Right now I think we all need to be led. We ask for the Lord to shine his light and lead us but sometimes we are not as good about following that light. We think that maybe our way is better and stray from the path that is put before us. I sometimes look at what is ahead and think that there is no way that this could be the right way. That is when my soul gets heavy and I figure out that I went the wrong way. The pandemic has done a lot of damage as far as knowing which way to go and who to believe. It seems that everyone has their own idea of what is right and what is wrong. The health professionals agree on most things but have their own opinions as well and that makes it confusing for us. We have to have faith that God will direct us to the right decisions and be ready to listen when he does.

This is where trust comes in. We need to put our trust in the Lord and let him guide us in the right direction. Not only in the decisions with the virus but with our everyday life as well. The old WWJD saying comes to mind. What would Jesus do? He was many times put to the test but each time relied on his Heavenly Father to lead him. That is hard for us to do but it is important for us to follow his light. It all comes down to trust. Faith is built on trust.

Mark 2:13-22

¹³ Jesus^* went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. ¹⁴As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he sat at dinner^* in Levi’s^* house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting^* with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶When the scribes of^* the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat^* with tax-collectors and sinners?’ ¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people^*came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ ¹⁹Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

²¹ ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’^*