By Sirrah Sprady
There’s always a hopeful anticipation during the new year. The calendar changes, new resolutions and healthy habits commence, and we begin this process of “starting over,” pushing our proverbial “reset” button. However, 2021, much like 2020, seems to have brought with it some of the same troubles that have been plaguing our nation for months: political turmoil, racial division, healthcare crises, economic downturn, abnormal weather, etc. If one falls prey to the “glitz and glamour of the new year,” one might think that our “reset button” has malfunctioned. But if we put on our spiritual lenses, we will find that there is a lesson to be learned here.
In early January it snowed here in Texas. There was something so pure about how the ground and the tops of the trees and houses were covered in unstained white as the snow fell. I wished that the snow could cover all of the hurt, hate and division that we have seen in our nation.
In just a couple of days, that snow melted, as expected. I was surprised that the week of February 14, it snowed again. This snowfall became a fierce icy storm, lasting longer than many of us in the southern part of the country have ever seen. It damaged homes, froze water pipes, caused electrical power grid failure, and made roadways impassable. Many states are still recovering from it.
I believe that the snow we’ve experienced cannot be solely attributed to aberrant weather patterns. I believe God has a message for us. There is something spiritual happening in the earth. In Isaiah 1:18 (NIV), the Lord says, “Come now, let us settle the matter…Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” There is a matter that must be settled with the Lord – this matter of our sins. There is so much wickedness in our world and so much hatred for each other and for the things of God. We are slowly being rocked to sleep by Satan’s charms and enchantments, flirting with sin that looks good and well-meaning, when really it puts mankind on the edge of one disaster after another.
I wonder if God feels the same today as He did in the days of Isaiah. Has the stench of our sin reached His nostrils? Is He now giving us warning after warning in hopes that we will turn back to Him before it is too late? Does His heart break because He knows we are on the path toward destruction? Believe it or not, this world is being shaken. Disasters are becoming more frequent and the world is growing colder and darker. Oh, that we would settle this matter with God and repent and turn back to His truth and His ways! May our hearts break over what breaks God’s heart! May we clean up our “spiritual houses” and allow God to change us from the inside out. May we not fall prey to the “glitz and glamour of the new year,” but instead realize that the years won’t change until we do. May we allow God to cleanse us from the inside out and wash our sins as white as snow.