Winter means hardship for most wild creatures. That’s why insects burrow deep, some birds fly south, and mammals hibernate. If they can survive until the spring breaks, and it surely will, they’ve got it made for another year.

There is a winter for each of us, as well. Hard times visit each of us. Winter is that season when provision is very tight. Many people stick their heads in the sand, run away, or try to sleep through the hardship. But God has called us to keep our faith through it all. These are but seasons, and the next one will follow. Have you ever seen a winter that didn’t go away right on schedule? Hang in there; you can make it.

Of course, it woke everybody up, and I lost my place in my notes, but we all had a good laugh at the soundman’s expense. He was so embarrassed. Have you ever been so caught up in what you were doing that you didn’t realize the main thing going on around you? Of course, we have.

Could it be that we are so focused upon what is happening in our material world that we have ignored the spiritual realm around us. Could God be trying to get our attention but we’re oblivious to His signs? Does someone need to punch us in the ribs to get us to see things from God’s perspective?

Stop right now and ask God if there is something He’s trying to show you that you are not hearing. Just stopping and asking can be the invitation He’s been waiting for.

The little boy became upset, for he thought that the one he had turned to for help was being mean. Soon, though, he noticed that instead of hitting the boat, each stone was directed beyond it, making a small ripple that moved the vessel a little nearer to the shore. Every throw of the stone was planned, and at last the treasured toy was brought back to his waiting hands.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the trials going on in your life are God throwing rocks your direction to redirect you in another way? Is it possible the ripples you are experiencing are carefully directed by Him to push you in the way He wants you to go for your own well-being? Consider that today. Paul wrote: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth” (Colossians 3:2).

I’ve noticed a strange thing happen in wood fires, though. On occasion, an eerie whistle may come from the depths of an inflamed timber. It can sound like a chirping bird, although no birds chirp in the dark. Where does that pleasant sound come from? Is it the echo of songbirds from long ago when that tree was a sapling?

No, we understand that the sound comes from escaping gases from deep within the wood itself. Yet, there may be a great spiritual lesson for each of us in that whistling sound. Perhaps it should remind us that in troubled times in our lives there should always be a song in our hearts. As a matter of fact, there has been no sweeter sound to God than my hurting heart’s cry to Him. It may sound sadistic, but God loves to hear our outcry to Him in times of trouble. And that broken cry for help moves His heart to respond.

Perhaps you’ve been experiencing a little ruggedization in your own life. God Himself arranges difficulties in our lives to develop character for the long haul. People who strive for comfort never develop this ruggedness.

James puts it like this: “Count it all joy…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).

Then, after pitching for a time in the minor leagues, Dave made a widely applauded comeback to the majors. But in Montreal, as he was delivering a pitch, his arm snapped.

The cancer had not gone away. To save his life, doctors removed his arm and much of his shoulder. A committed Christian, Dave didn’t wallow in self-pity. Dave’s comments for all of us were: “There is no struggle about feeling sorry for myself. The question is not, ‘Why me, God?’ The question is, ‘What is Your plan for me?’…I see this as God giving me the opportunity to share the gospel with a lot of people.”

Don’t wallow in self-pity. Ask the right question.

For example, during a television interview, David Frost once asked former president George H. W. Bush how he could square his belief in a loving and all-powerful God with the miseries and injustices of life. Frost reminded Bush of the time he shed tears at the sight of starving children and of his grief when his own daughter had died.

President Bush said, “It never occurred to me to blame God for that.” He insisted that the Lord has provided enough food for everyone, but that starvation occurs because of human greed and ineptitude. The President said that his daughter’s illness had drawn the family closer to one another and to God. He was comforted because he knew that she had been caught up in the arms of her loving heavenly Father.

Are you prepared to respond to criticism of your faith?

Forty years after Charles Sheldon “lost” his book, he said, “I am very thankful that owing to the defective copyright, the book has had a larger reading on account of the great number of publishers.”

We must see failure through God’s eyes. Perhaps He has something in sight that we do not. It may be that a closed door for you is an open door for something or someone else. We need to stop belly-aching over the failure and get back in the game.

But they realized something too late – the British had been testing the pipeline with salty seawater. Within 24 hours all of the Germans were dying of thirst. Recognizing the severity of their situation, they quickly surrendered.

How does God get us to quickly surrender? I believe sometimes he permits us to go too far, to get too much, and to experience deep failure. He permits this so we will turn to Him. Its a strategy that works well with hard heads like us.

Jesus taught a parable in which He said, “Go out…and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” (Luke 14:21).

Caribbean pine trees regularly stand up to fierce hurricanes, long periods of drought, and even fire. But one thing they cannot tolerate is cultivation. In a well-kept yard with plenty of water and fertilizer, they often die.

Perhaps we’re a little like those pine trees. During good times, we may grow complacent and lose our effectiveness for Christ. But blasts of trial remind us of our need to depend on Him. When we feel our weakest, we can actually be the strongest.

Paul wrote, “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3). Hang in there.