I live in Minnesota and we have had quite a wintry March.  We had several feet of drifted snow everywhere we looked, and temperatures in the single digits as the calendar flipped past March 21 . . . Spring!  It is hard to believe in the promises of Spring when Winter is still lurking all about.

But I had a friend remind me that things are not always what they seem.

What I see is a landscape that is lifeless and cold.  What I do not see is the pulsing of life within the trees as they prepare to bud with new leaves, the bulbs buried underground ready to sprout flowers once the temperature rises and the melting snow moistens them, and the matted down, colorless grass that is hiding under the blanket of snow, ready to thrive as the sun’s rays reach its blades.    The promises of Spring are surely surrounding me . . . that is just not the way it seems.

When things are not what they seem, it is important to know and remember what is true.  

What is true is that God has fulfilled the promises of Spring year after year after year . . . He is faithful.  This example may seem trivial (unless you have spent a winter in an area of the country where winter makes a convincing case that it is never leaving!), but the premise is not.  There are countless examples of situations where things are not always what they seem . . . I imagine you are faced with such a situation today.  If so, I encourage you to know and remember what is true.  God is good.  God is able.  God is faithful.  God is with you.   Make a list of the things that you know to be true, and remember them, remember them over and over again.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.     Psalm 100:5