Do You Have Joy in Winter?

This morning I heard new songs at the Riverwalk. Not the stalwart red-winged blackbird that faithfully sings through the winter, but a new lilting refrain, fresh and clear.

The river sang a different tune as well, popping and creaking at its ice-rimmed edges.

In chorus, they sounded jubilant.

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth,” the psalmist wrote.

He continues: “Let the field be joyful and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming” (Psalm 96:1, 12-13 NKJV).

Even in winter’s frigid grasp, creation sings the Lord’s praises. There is a lesson for me here. In tight frozen places or from yet unfruitful, dormant endeavors, I can praise Him. By simply acknowledging His faithfulness, I loosen the ice and stretch my limbs and find again that His joy is my strength.

May you find the same during these crispy winter days.

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

                                            –Nehemiah 8:10

Peace Like a River

Thanks to my guest blogger last week, you know where I spend most mornings: trotting down the trail along the Arkansas River near our home.

The river is a seasonal host, rushing past in summer, swollen with snow melt and churning red or brown. But now it has laid itself down for autumn and whispers by, laughing only in the rocky shallows or at the bulwark of the bridges.

"We made it,” the waters declare. “We made it over the rocks. They didn't stop us. Praise the Lord!"

If I could truly decipher the voice of nature, would I hear it speak in such a way that praises its creator? What a beautiful declaration—one to which I should add my own voice. But that’s not what usually happens when I’m dashed against a boulder blocking my way.

If you doubt that nature praises Him, read Psalm 148. You can almost hear the water singing.

Maybe that’s the secret to the peace I find at the river—praising God in all things.

Even when I’m pressed against the rocks.