We had a few days where it felt like spring had finally arrived. The sun was out, the air warmed up, and it seemed like winter had finally loosened its grip. And then, just as quickly, the cold returned. Snow fell again, reminding us that seasons don’t change as cleanly or quickly as we’d like.
That’s not just true of the weather—it’s true of our spiritual lives too. There are moments where it feels like God is bringing change. We start to see progress, feel a little lighter, a little freer. And then, just as quickly, the struggle comes back. Old habits, old frustrations, the same weight we thought we were moving past. It can make you wonder if anything actually changed at all.
But Scripture reminds us that this is how seasons work. “For everything there is a season…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). They don’t flip overnight—they overlap. Growth takes time. James paints the picture clearly: “The farmer waits… being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” (James 5:7). There are multiple phases to growth, and not all of them feel like progress.
Even when it feels inconsistent, God isn’t. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…” (Philippians 1:6). What He starts, He finishes. And even the difficult, back-and-forth parts are doing something in us. “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3–4).
So if it feels like you’ve stepped back into winter after catching a glimpse of spring, don’t lose heart. You’re not going backwards—you’re in between seasons. And just because the cold showed up again doesn’t mean spring isn’t still on the way.