Winter seasons – or seasons of our lives when we feel stretched thin, lonely, and far from God – can be difficult to get through. But God gives us hope in the winter. Just like winter is a time of dormant rest and quiet preparation in nature, winter seasons are a time of rest and preparation for us as well. Here are some bible verses about winter to encourage you and strengthen you during the winter seasons of life.
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What is a winter season of faith?
Winter seasons in life are difficult. When we are in the middle of a winter season, we can feel:
- Listless
- Sad
- Despondent
- Depressed
We want to overcome those winter seasons of faith by clinging to the truth and weathering them well. Learning some bible verses about winter can be helpful for weathering our winter seasons.
Related: How to Get Through Our Winter Seasons
Are winter seasons the same as wilderness seasons in life?
Interestingly, there are two different analogies for these times of doubt or feeling far away from God due to circumstances or suffering.
One type of season is a winter season of faith. The other type of season is a wilderness season of life. These two seasons have some overlap, but they aren’t necessarily the same.
A winter season of faith is:
- A time when you feel far from God
- A time of barrenness, where you are not as fruitful in your ministry
- A time characterized by sadness, depression, and maybe being in a ‘funk’
A wilderness season of life is:
- A time when you feel lost
- A time of trials during which you need perseverance
- A time of instruction
- A desert time of life
In the Bible, wilderness periods of life were used to refine people’s character. One of the most important lessons I learned about the wilderness was that the wilderness was a place that people were generally led to for a purpose.
God was not surprised that the Israelites ended up in the wilderness. In fact, he led them to the mountain in the wilderness. That was even a sign to Moses that God was who he said he was!
In the wilderness, the people were taught God’s instructions. The two years in the wilderness – before the spies went to survey Canaan – were ordained by God in order to set the Israelites apart. It was a testing time, a refining time to make the Israelites a pure and holy people.
Winter seasons are not necessarily the same thing. I believe winter seasons of faith are mostly caused due to the brokenness of the world and the sin in ourselves. Some of our winter seasons are caused by sickness, death, or other types of grief. Some of our winter seasons are caused by our own sins, doubt, or busyness.
In these cases, the suffering and brokenness cause us to drift into a barren time. At this time, we are just focused on surviving with intact faith. These winter seasons will happen, but it is not something that we are led to by God, like in the case of a wilderness season.
In both seasons, we want to cling to God. But understanding the purpose of each season will help us to weather them well.
What are bible verses about winter?
Here are some Bible verses about winter to help you weather your winter seasons well.
Bible Verses about Winter and our Powerful God as Creator
- Psalm 147:16-17 – He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down His hail like pebbles. Who can withstand His icy blast?
- Psalm 74:17 – It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth; You made both summer and winter.
- Psalm 148:7-8 – Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!
- Job 38:22 – Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?
Bible Verses about Winter and the way it demonstrates the Promises of God
- Genesis 8:22 – As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
- 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.
- Song of Songs 2:11-12 – See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come
Bible Verses about Winter and the way it reminds us of our own salvation
- Isaiah 1:18 – “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.
- Psalm 51:7 – Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Bible Verses about Winter and the way it reminds us of our work and God’s Provision
- Proverbs 31:21 – When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet [wool].
- Proverbs 20:4 – Sluggards do not plow in the autumn, so they beg during the harvest but have nothing.
I pray that these verses encourage you in whatever winter season you are facing. Remember, winter seasons and wilderness seasons help refine us into an image that is more like Christ’s.
If you would like to dive deeper into overcoming wilderness seasons, get my devotional ‘Wilderness Wanderings: Walking Out of Darkness into Christ’s Light” in the AMBL shop.
The Wilderness Wanderings: Walking Out of Darkness into Christ’s Light
We all go through seasons during which we feel far from God. I call these moments our wilderness wanderings. These times can feel hopelessly defeating as we go through the motions of each day, overwhelmed with sorrow, tiredness, or just plain apathy. In this 7-day study, you will learn the purposes of the wilderness and how to overcome this period in your life.
Until next time, keep creating a life you love and cultivating your heart for God.
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