Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter are seasons that we walk through, both literally and figuratively. The most evident seasons are winter and summer. The summer season of life is easy and feels refreshing. The winter season can be a time that may include family drama, hard work, and other life challenges. Add in the snow, ice, and gloomy days that can bring the winter blues. The seasons can be hard to get through with everything in life, and it can be hard to remember to put the hope we have in Jesus Christ to the forefront of our minds.
Author G. K. Chesterton said that “Christ is not merely a summer sun of the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate.” Jesus isn’t just with us on the good days, he is with us through the bad days and darkest valleys, too (Psalm 23:4). We are never alone in any season.
Summer Sun
First, Chesterton reminds us that Jesus is a “summer sun.” The sun in the summer brings light and warmth to already nice days. The season brings refreshment to our souls. We should not forget Jesus in these seasons. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (NIV). We can be thankful for God’s goodness and provision. We can praise him in the moments where things are going right, and for the good seasons. The thing is, this season will not last forever; the hard seasons are inevitable. The good news is, Jesus is with us during those times, too.
“Christ is not merely a summer sun of the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate.”
Winter Fire
Chesterton also says that Jesus is a “winter fire for the unfortunate.” Life is hard, and dark seasons will come just like the physical winter season. When we trudge through the cold, these seasons can feel lonely and long.
We can cling to Jesus in our unfortunate moments. While we are in the dark moments of life, Jesus is the light that can bring us through. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (NIV). When we follow Jesus, we have a light to guide us when we don’t know where to go.
Believers can have hope because the winter season will come to an end. 2 Corinthians says,
“Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-14, 16-18, NIV)
“While we are in the dark moments of life, Jesus is the light that can bring us through.”
Seasons in the Bible . . .
The same Jesus whose blinding glory struck Paul awake on the road to Damascus was the same Jesus whose presence later warmed Paul in the cold, damp prison.
The same God who commissioned Moses in a bush ablaze with fire kept leading him through the dark days of lonely leadership with a persistent pillar of fire.
The same Jesus who saw Peter deny him by a fireside was the same Jesus who forgave Peter by a fireside to show that he truly forgave and loved Peter.
The same God that provided for the castaway Hagar in the desert was the same God who blessed her son Ishmael and made him into a great nation.
The same God who gave Daniel wisdom to interpret dreams was the same God who rescued him out of the lion’s den and death.
The same God who chose a young, rising-star Samuel to lead Israel was the same God who comforted him as an old man when Israel asked him to be replaced by a king.
“The same God that provided for the castaway Hagar in the desert was the same God who blessed her son Ishmael and made him into a great nation.”
The memories that we make in the summer season remind us that the winter season will come to an end. We can have hope in the future and focus on eternity because of what Jesus has done and will do. This temporary life with troubles will fade, and praise God that the best is yet to come. The best will last forever.
Whatever season you are in right now, have been in, or may experience in the future—cling to Jesus, who is constant and will provide what you need. Whether it is rejoicing or struggling, he is with us. Jesus is the summer sun and the winter fire that our souls need.