For February to be the shortest month, it sure can seem like the longest. It just FEELS longer. It can feel cold, dark, and depressing. I guess that’s why we have to go with what we know to be true rather than what we feel is true. February really only has 28 days, except for this year when it has 29. Great. Even still, it’s the shortest month to feel so long. February can take many of us into a wintertime depression if we let it.

So many times we allow feelings to drive us, and the result is we often completely ignore truth. If I feel that the Lord is distant, I can ignore the scripture that tells me he is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). If I feel overwhelmed, I can choose to deny the scripture that tells me that I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength to accomplish the things I need to do (Philippians 4:13). When I cannot feel His peace over my life, I can easily forget the passage that tells me that He gave it to me already (John 14:27).

Feelings are good, but feelings can also lie to us. We have to make a conscious decision some days to ignore how we feel and go with what we know. I know, on those days that seem too overwhelming, that God is faithful. I know when I feel that I have to carry my burdens all alone, that Jesus has said I can hand them off to Him and He will give me rest. I may feel one way, but I know the truth. I have to live my life in truth.

Our enemy wants us to live in our feelings instead. He wants me to feel as if February is the month of never ending winter. I can easily begin to wonder if I’ll ever see another spring even though I know, like clockwork, the season will change, and I will see flowers and birds and sunshine once more.

Last week, as I drove home after a long workday, I caught sight of one of my favorite things. In the ditch in front of my house was a beautiful clump of daffodils, just one bunch of them standing alone in the whole wintery yard, reaching their heads up to the sky. There they were, a living testimony that truth prevails and God is still God, even in February. When I caught sight of them, I shouted! Oh, how I needed to see those yellow blossoms.

Then, during my weekly trip to Walmart for groceries, I decided to wander through the garden center. There’s not a lot going on there yet this early, but there were a few plants out for sale. I bought one. A tiny palm tree. I saw it, and it seemed to call to me. It was like another promise of sunny days to come… of warm summer days, blue skies, sand and surf. I took it home, and it now lives on my kitchen counter. It’s there where I can see it and be reminded of other promises and truths that I can forget when my lying feelings get in the way of me living in truth.