“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Isaiah 38:17
As I write this, we are experiencing some of the coldest weather in Oklahoma's recorded history. The temperature is zero, and snow covers the ground. The forecasters are calling for temperatures in the 60s in the next two weeks. If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma now, just wait a few minutes.
Before my family and I moved back to Oklahoma, we lived in a place known for sunny skies, low humidity, and mild temperatures. Because of that, we were not used to snow and ice. So when our first winter back in Oklahoma arrived, and it was so cold, we pulled everything out of the freezer and huddled inside to warm up.
A couple of winters ago, it snowed for several days straight. So, I bought a snow shovel and learned to clear the sidewalks and driveway. Since I knew it would continue snowing, I thought I would be better off waiting until it stopped and shovel all the snow at one time.
When I finally got around to shoveling snow, several inches had piled up. At first, the snow was easy to move – scrape, toss, scrape, toss, scrape, toss, scrape, toss, the snow flew. Suddenly, I hit a snag. When I got through the top layer of snow, scrape, toss became scrrraaaa… scrrraaaa… the snow shovel would not move. There were three inches of compacted solid ice underneath the top layer of snow. It would not budge. Super glue had nothing on the ice attached to my sidewalk.
I tried chipping away at the ice with the snow shovel. Didn’t work.
I tried chipping away at the ice with a steel digging shovel. Didn’t work.
I tried chipping away at the ice with a crowbar. Didn’t work. It bounced off the ice and hit me in the head.
I tried the sledgehammer—chip, chip, chip. Only small bits broke free. After three hours, my arms throbbed, I was sweating, and the ice remained. It melted on its own in April.
Snow removal is much easier if dealt with before it settles, gets compressed, and turns into unmovable ice. Unforgiveness can build up like ice and snow on my sidewalk. You can become frozen in unforgiveness by pretending the hurt doesn’t exist, and go on with life, but your heart will turn bitterly cold. The ice of unforgiveness will get a death grip, killing your relationships and your soul. If it happens, it takes work, a lot of work, to chip, chip, chip away at your anger and resentment.
The point is that you should deal with the hurt and pain in your life now. Don’t let it settle any longer. Forgive instead of ignoring the pain. Work with God to remove the ice around your heart. Allow God to love you and help you love again.
Isaiah 38:17 shows that healing comes after heartbreak. God can free you from unforgiveness and make you stronger. Let Jesus Christ move you from bitterness to healing, just as removing snow early prevents lasting ice.
Hope and healing are found in the name of Jesus. Reach out to Him and let your soul thaw.
Don’t wait.
The forecast calls for colder weather.
