Hope: From Fog to Frost
Earlier this year, a heavy fog descended in our area. Visibility was very limited—at times only a quarter of a mile ahead. Extreme caution was needed while driving on the highways, especially in the dark of night. But in the morning the scenery was breathtaking as hoarfrost clung thickly to everything in sight—trees, wires, grasses, shrubs, and more. The beauty lasted all day into the night and became even thicker the next day, which is highly unusual for our drier climate in eastern Montana. This spectacular phenomenon occurred six different days in the month of January.
Fog is defined as “a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth’s surface which obscures or restricts visibility. It can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography, and wind conditions.”
Hoarfrost is “a deposit of ice crystals on objects exposed to the free air, such as grass blades, tree branches, or leaves. It is formed by direct condensation of water vapor to ice at temperatures below freezing and occurs when air is brought to its frost point by cooling. The word ‘hoar’ comes from old English and refers to the old age appearance of the frost: the way the ice crystals form makes it look like white hair or a beard.” The verse from Psalm 147:16 describes God’s use of it, “He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.”
Fog deeply limits our vision. The “fog” of life can envelop us to such a degree that we have a hard time seeing any hope for the future. The despair, uncertainty, grief, and grayness of heart can cause us to stop expecting any kind of positive change. Trying to understand why God would allow so much to go wrong can deepen and prolong the fog. Trusting Him can seem almost impossible.
And then God starts to open our eyes to the beauty that was being formed during the long season of the foggy darkness of our souls. He starts to lift the heaviness and begins to reveal in His time His dazzling hoarfrost of hope, a confident expectation. He was there with us through the fog and so loves it when we realize He had never allowed us out of His sight, even though we had felt He had let us wander alone for a period of time.
Romans 15:13 has become one of my favorite verses about hope: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Paul was encouraging the Roman believers with these words, and they are so relevant to us, as well. We are to abound in this confident expectation, this thing called hope.
When you are going through a deeply troubling time in your life, make yourself remember that God is going through it with you. He promises to deliver you. He promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you. The fog will eventually lift and leave behind a beautiful hoarfrost of hope.
