Daily Devotions
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22
Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” provides ongoing delight to lovers of baroque era music. His musical imagery using violin and orchestra portrays spring, summer, autumn, and winter in succession. Four descriptive sonnets accompany the music.
How much a part of life itself, the seasons. We can count on their regularity, their uniqueness, and their individual character. God describes the seasons to Noah as a promise of His loving presence after the Flood: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Year after year we experience the rebirth of spring, the heat of summer, the colors of autumn, and the cold of winter. While varying in intensity from climate to climate, the seasons nevertheless remind us of God’s creative power and His orderly rule in nature.
With the passing of years they remind us also of the reality of death and the ultimate end of this world. We recognize our sinfulness and rebellion against God, even as the Flood marked God’s punishment of sin.
For this reason we rejoice that God has sent us a “Man for All Seasons,” His Son Jesus Christ. Born at winter’s midnight hour, He grew up to walk the roads of Palestine at seedtime and harvest, including a winter visit to Jerusalem (John 10:22). He went to death for our sins and rose from the dead during a glorious springtime and offers us eternal life with Him long after the seasons end.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for giving us the four seasons to enjoy. We look forward to eternal life with You when these seasons end. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)