The word “winter” חָרַף when spelled in reverse is פָּרַח and is a word for “blossoming“. It is a reminder that there is purpose to every season and that in the end of its cycle, there will be flowers that blossom and fruit that yields!

Song 2:10-12 My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along. For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.” (different word for winter used here, but same idea)

The root word for “blossoming” פָּרַח also means “they become flying ones”. This denotes freedom and maturity as a baby bird leaves the nest when it is old enough to fly on its own. The root word for “winter” חָרַף can also mean “betrothal”…seeing winter through spiritual eyes will reveal that it is a season of entering into a deeper level of our intimacy with Jesus.

Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard does not plow after autumn (חָרַף same word as winter), so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

This verse reminds me of Matthew 25:3  For when the foolish virgins took their lamps, they took no oil with them. Just as we can not get the oil of intimacy with Jesus from another so the fields of our life can only be cultivated by us. The sluggard says “it’s too cold and the winds are too harsh to plow seeds…I want to remain where it is warm and comfortable  and I’ll just glean from others”.

Our lives are like a seed and carry 100 fold potential. A hundred fold is not 100 x’s something, it is the totality of  its sum. For example, when you plant an apple seed a 100 fold harvest not only means the fruit from that tree but from every seed, from every apple, from every new tree every year, and on and on. A 100 fold is a 100 fold whether you have a large platform like Billy Graham or if you are an unknown.

Cultivating history with Jesus will reap a harvest of intimately knowing Him and fulfilling all His will for our lives.

Laura

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