Seasons … Which one Are You In?

As we wrap up this year, well, this decade, I shared with some yesterday about seasons. Living in a community surrounded by farmers, they grasp the reality and the importance of knowing seasons. But seasons are more than just weather related. We go through seasons of life too. Dry seasons, stormy seasons, seasons of deluge, and fruitful seasons are just some on the list.

Ecclesiastes has its well known passage that there is a time or season for everything. The Byrds made it a number one hit in their 1965 recording of Turn!Turn!Turn!

But the word in Hebrew doesn’t directly mean weather season, it means an appointed time, or place. Life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. God allows us to go through tough seasons. And He uses those to teach us. I am not sure what type of season you’re in, so I want to share some of what I gleaned studying the different times of our lives. Since God created and uses seasons (Genesis 1 and elsewhere), we can find joy and purpose in each season of life.

Embrace the Winter … use it as a time to deepen your roots, to prepare for what’s next, to strengthen your trust. I love these words from the Hillsong tune, Seasons.

Though the winter is long even richer … the harvest it brings

If your not done working, God I’m not done waiting

Spring Forward … plant the seeds, invest in new grounds, enlarge your borders, embrace the excitement of life. Maybe even use this time for spring cleaning. Get rid of what you don’t need.

Invest in the Summer … as JFK said, the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Don’t wait for winter or rainy season, that will be too late. Use summer to enhance the work in which you are involved. Get that barn all ready for the harvest and get the crop ready.

Work the Fall … this is harvest season! There are major responsibilities and limited time. Fruit may be character, ministries, evangelism, and so many other things that ‘fruit’ can mean. God gives opportunities and sometimes those opportunities have a limited time span. As many say ‘you snooze you lose’.

You want to know how to survive the seasons? Psalm 1 shows us the rules … be like a tree planted (solidly rooted) by the streams of water (consistently fed) that yields its fruit in season (not perpetually, but in the right time after being fed and pruned) and its leaf does not wither, and in all that he does, he prospers (grows in maturity).

So, no matter what season 2019 leaves you in, you can know God is still at work. Find joy in that and pray for great harvest in 2020. But if you pray for that, be prepared to put in the work.