But now thus says the Lord, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you..."    Isaiah 43:1-4

Doesn't life sometimes feel like our endless series of winter storms? 

There is a word that theologians use when talking about God called "providence."  Providence deals with the question of how it is that God takes care of God's people.

In Luther's Small Catechism, he writes this about providence when explaining the first article of the Apostle's Creed:

"I believe...God daily and abundantly provides...all the necessities and nourishment for life.  God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil."

My first instinct when reading this is to say that Luther didn't have a clue what he was talking about -- that this writing reflects nothing more than naïve faith.  But then I remember that the small hardships I face are nothing compared with the difficult life Martin Luther was confronted with in 16^th century Europe.  His very life was often in danger, not to mention his massive bouts with depression and constant struggles he faced within the church, his community and in his own daily life.  In addition, life expectancy was low, illness was high and Luther even suffered the loss of one of his children.  I had to ask myself, how could someone who continually faced hardships, failures and disappointments write words such as; "God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil."

Maybe the words Luther wrote in his Small Catechism were words written on one of his good days.  We all have those too you know.  Or, maybe a life lived on the journey of faith allows us to look back on the trials, tribulations and sufferings that we encounter and say "grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home."

It won't be long and the winter storms will be over, snow will melt, birds will sing and life will spring forth from every nook and cranny of our world.

Life is tough - but God's love is tougher.  We all go through storms - yet, in all things, God promises to be faithful. In the midst of our daily challenges and frustrations, we may wonder where God is or why it seems God doesn't care - but our hearts of faith hang on -- and we trust -- and we wait -- for God is faithful and will not tarry for long.