THE TREASURY OF THE SNOW

“Have you entered the treasury of snow…?” (Job 38:22a NKJV)

As I write these words from my perch in my study, I look out the window at a world blanketed with deep snow.  I have considered its beauty, been aggravated that it postponed a ballgame I wanted to watch, felt a quiet peace as I was forced to slow down, been out sledding like an overgrown kid, made snow cream, wondered about the need to scrape the parking lot before Sunday…and a swirl of other thoughts all inspired by the fluffy white stuff that descended from the clouds.

When you read these words, all that snow will have melted and maybe it was winter’s last hurrah, as the time for daffodils and crocuses to push up through the warming sod as harbingers of spring has come—and maybe not, because I recall the worst snowstorm I’ve ever been through was the blizzard of ’93 in March.  Weather in the short term can be unpredictable and for that far ahead nigh impossible to forecast—mostly guesswork based on averages and trends.

Life can be even more unpredictable. 

Just ask Job.  He was sailing along without a cloud in the sky when the storm broke upon him—and calamity followed calamity.  Some things didn’t make sense—and as we would all be tempted to do—he questioned God.

But, when God showed up, the tables were turned and God had some questions for Job!  One of those is a verse that arose in my mind this morning as I gazed on the winter wonderland outside.  “Have you entered the treasury of snow…?”

We certainly know more about how snow forms and when snow falls than Job ever did—yet it contains something of majesty and mystery still in our modern age.  There is a treasury of truth in the snow that we may explore.

No two snowflakes are identical—though out of the astronomical number of them, you could possibly find two that were nearly identical on a microscopic level, that on a molecular level—the answer is they are all unique.  So, God has made each of us special.  “Identical” twins may seem indistinguishable to us, and will have definite similarities—yet in some ways they will differ—as do all of us.  As snowflakes, we are designed by the same Maker but with an array of capacities, personalities, preferences and so much more.  God has a design and destiny for us all, just suited to us, and we find fulfillment and purpose when we discover and submit to that.

One snowflake isn’t much by itself.  Put a bunch of them together and they have power to impact a city.  This is the genius of the church.  Individual believers may not be able to accomplish much, but collectively we can be a great power for good in the world!

Snow is beneficial to the soil.  It prepares for the flowers of spring and crops of summer.  The needful moisture is put into the ground, slowly absorbed, and so even better than rain!  The term, “blanket of snow” is instructive because the snow actually traps the earth’s warmth around the roots of plants, protecting them from the frigid temperatures of winter.  What seems to be so cold and harsh is actually a blessing!  So much of what God permits to come into our lives, that we think is so brutal, actually proves to be a blessing in disguise.  He is at work to accomplish the end result of our good and His glory, though it seems very much the opposite at the time.

But my favorite part of the snow is its transformative power.  You may have a pile of trash outside and let the snow cover it and all that is changed—the ugliness is hidden and what you see is the beauty of white snow that covers it.  After David sinned, he cried out, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Ps.51:7b) 

This is the promise of God,

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the LORD,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool. (Isa.1:18)

This is the greatest treasure of all—a life changed!  Sins gone; righteousness given—a new life in Christ is ours, irrespective of our past. 

The old hymn echoes this possibility:

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.