Lessons from the Blizzard of 2015

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool (Isaiah 1:18, NIV).

Monday night through late Tuesday we got about 3 feet of snow where I live. Even before the storm hit it was announced that school was cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and since there was so no place to put all it was cancelled for today as well. We were all set with food, firewood, and a generator in case the power went out (mercifully it didn’t). Inside the house we had a good time watching the storm.

Tuesday afternoon after the majority of the snow had come, we went out to start shoveling out. The good news was that it was a light powdery snow. The bad news was that between the wind and the street plows we had drifts that were 5 feet high to dig out from. To make things more difficult our driveway has a 6 foot fence on the left, the house on the right and a barn in the back. Translation: there is nowhere to put all this white stuff! Shoveling was necessary but frustratingly futile. Not only is there no real place to put it, but it being light and powdery the high winds just kept blowing it back. The more we shoveled, the more we needed to shovel. After an hour my back was done. I went inside, took some ibuprofen and went to lay down.

As I lay on my back and thought about the immensity of the snow and the struggle to deal with it, it hit me that sin is like that too, only worse. We think we can deal with it. Logic, psychology, self-help books, determination, and grit are the shovels we use. But the more we move it, the more we seem to just be moving things around, and in our more honest moments we realize we can’t dig ourselves out from under the guilt and shame it brings.

The next day, I reached out to a friend of mine who came and plowed me out. In less than 5 minutes both our driveways were clear. I cannot express how thankful I was. That reminded me of the Father’s grace in Jesus. Just like the snow had to move away under the power of the plow, sin cannot stay when it encounters the power of omnipotent grace.

There is one key difference however. While my driveways were made wide, clear, and accessible, the snow is still there. It was not gone, just moved to a more convenient place. God’s grace does not just dig us out, nor does it simply push the power of sin back, but it melts the problem of sin clean away. Sin has no staying power in the presence of grace.

Winter is far from over. There are more snow storms on the way even in the coming week. While none of them are going to bring the kind of snow this past storm did, it won’t be long before I am wondering where to pile up the new stuff.

But the winter that sin had in my soul is over because of Jesus. I never need worry about where I stand in God’s court. My sins though they made my soul scarlet, because of Him my souls is now white as snow to the Father. And for that I am eternally grateful and beyond words to express.

That said, please God, bring spring quickly….