Winter preserves the tree, no matter how dead the tree may appear. During the winter, the source and principle of life is more firmly established than in any other season. In all the other seasons, the tree employs the whole force of its life in adorning and beautifying itself. But it does so at the expense of expending its life, taking its very vitality from the roots and the deepest part of the trunk. There must be winter.
Winter is necessary for the tree, if it is to live, survive and flourish.
If we have eyes to see, then we see that this is beautiful. Grace operates in your life in exactly the same way. God will take away the leaves. Something will cause them to fall. The outward virtue will collapse.