Isaiah 55:10-11
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Growing up in the northern part of Virginia, my family experienced significant snowstorms every winter, with epic wind-driven drifts that reached heights my arms could not reach, or my legs could not trudge through. My love of snow and the memories it evokes have stayed with me well into my adult years; my heart wells up with excitement whenever snow is in the forecast.
Recently, my husband and I were reminiscing that it was thirty years ago that the East Coast experienced what is remembered as the Blizzard of ’96. Our family, including our two daughters, and an English friend who was just passing through, found ourselves snowed in for four days. Another guest was a young man from NYC who was visiting us for the first time. He had come to visit with our daughter and found himself stuck with this intrepid group of strangers. By the time he left, little did we know that he had fallen in love with our youngest daughter and they would eventually marry the following year. God had a special purpose and blessing for all of us in that snowstorm!
The Lord has so much more in mind when He sends the snow. Let’s look at additional purposes and blessings He has for snow:
• God shows off His supreme artistry: God’s fingerprints are on every snowflake, and He sends each one by His creative hand for us to see His handiwork on full display. Each snowflake, when joined with other snowflakes, creates a beautiful, majestic landscape, all for His purpose. Likewise, every person, like a snowflake, is uniquely made for His plans, purposes, and promises.
• God reminds us of His provision: just like the snow provides “bread for the eater,” God has given us His Word as “bread,” and it will achieve the purpose for which He sent it.
• God gives us a visual reminder of His promise: Psalm 51:7 reminds us that He will wash us and we will be whiter than snow—by His blood-red cross, our sin is covered by His snow-white grace.
Next time it snows, rather than focusing on the inconveniences, take the time to reflect on these things and rejoice in our God who sends us “every good and perfect gift from above…” James 1:17. His purposes and promises are for our good and for His glory. Including snow.
Dear Heavenly Father, creator, and giver of life, we offer praise to You for Your creative artistry and thank You for the beauty of this earth. We offer thanks for how You provide for our daily bread through rain, snow, seeds, and sowers to work the ground. You offer us the bread of Your Word, which sustains us with spiritual food. And You promise to wash us clean, whiter than snow, by the redemptive grace of Jesus and His sacrificial blood. May we look at Your snow as a visual picture of Your plans, purposes, and promises, all because of Your great love for us. We thank You and praise You in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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