JOY Blog

The Promise of Spring
March 24, 2015By Cari Bousfield

Spring by Graham Scott on Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone, flowers appear on the earth, the season of singing has come.” (Song of Songs 2:11-12)

If you’re from North Dakota, you’re used to the harshness of winter. But many others throughout the country have also experienced a tough winter season this year. Thankfully, we’ll all be able to soon say, "See! The winter is past; the (snow and cold is) over and gone!"

We can say this with confidence for one simple reason:  spring has never failed to come. Soon, the grass will turn green, the flowers will begin to bloom, and birds will flock back from the south, chirping their merry little tunes. We can look forward to the joy that comes with spring after such a hard winter.

Isn't that how our lives can be too?

Sometimes we go through tough seasons filled with despair, hopelessness, sadness, financial troubles, sickness, and more. The list goes on and on. But eventually, just as spring comes after winter, that hard season in our lives also has to come to an end.

How do we know things will get better? Because of a promise the Word of God gives us: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10)

I will never forget a difficult season of my own life that also coincided with the harsh winter months. I believed it to be a spiritual attack, so instead of fighting the battle medically, I went after it with prayer and fasting. All that winter, I struggled with my health while trying to maintain hope.

Then one day in April as my husband and I drove through the Badlands of western North Dakota, I noticed green grass poking through the hard brown ground where white snow had been just the week before. As I looked across the fields, I saw baby calves running around, a few of them even trying to jump in the air. A Bible verse from the book of Malachi came to my mind: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2).

In that instant I believed that God was getting ready to do a new thing in me and that I would finally be healed of my afflictions. And my prayers were answered. My spring finally came. Winter was finally over. Along with receiving healing in my body, there was also a new life growing inside me.

If you are facing a particularly harsh season, I encourage you to hold on and don’t give up. Just like the warmth of the sun melts the ice and snow away, so too will your opposition begin to cease. Breakthrough will come!

Have you ever experienced a tough season of life you thought would never end? Have you found it to be true that opposition is at its worst right before your breakthrough?

Cari Bousfield is a freelance writer and blogger. Besides blogging for JOY, Cari blogs at Faith's Mom's Blog and writes on a variety of articles at HubPages. She is also the author of Having Faith. Cari has a strong desire to help people connect with one another and to God. She prays that through her writing, she can reach the hearts of others and help to bring hope, inspiration and courage to "walk by faith not by sight". See all JOY Blog posts by Cari.


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