There’s seems to be a lot of questionnaires floating around Facebook these days. You can find out which cartoon character you’re most like, how southern you are, and a myriad of other interesting facts about yourself that, supposedly, you never knew. While I find these things good for a laugh I want to pose my own question to you today and you can do what you want with your results. Let me tell you a little story first. I walked outside a few mornings ago expecting what had greeted me every morning for the past few months. I felt my pores tingling in anticipation preparing to sweat in moments that were to follow. When I stepped outside I was greeted with a much cooler temperature while my pores sat around trying to figure out what had happened. It’s my FAVORITE things to experience this time of the year. It’s that day I always wait for. The day that says…..the seasons are about to change. I’m a Fall and Winter kind of guy so I LIVE for that time of the year and just deal with Spring and Summer to get back to the seasons I really like. While I don’t mind Spring and Summer they tend to bring two things that my body doesn’t care for…pollen and heat. Don’t get me wrong there are things I like about both but those things normally wear off after I’ve walked to my car only to find I’ve sweated through my clothes and on the brink of a sinus infection from the yellow fog that is floating through the air. The joy of the prior morning didn’t last long before things turned back to muggy temperatures. BUT—it’s okay….because I know the seasons are preparing to change. Just a LITTLE while longer and my heat-loathing body will get a little break.
As I was heading to my car and I immediately realized the Holy Spirit was reminding me of the spiritual significance that was being implicated in that same moment. We all live in different spiritual seasons of our lives. I find it interesting that the natural seasons seem to mirror the spiritual seasons. Think about it…. In spring we experience new growth. That’s the time of the year we see new things beginning to spring forth. This also happens to be the season many farmers begin to sow seed and begin their gardens in preparation of a season of hopeful growth. Summer tends to be one of the hardest seasons as it will challenge any new growth that has taken place. The heat of the sun will beat down on everything around it and if proper nutrition isn’t received, it can lead to death of that new growth. [Side note: Just because something new begins to grow in spring or summer doesn’t mean it will continue to grow—or was ever intended to continue growing. You may be growing weeds and not even realize it-and, if you’ve ever had a garden, we all know weeds tend to grow faster, lol.] The heat of the summer helps eliminate those things that aren’t strong enough to make it to the next season. BUT, if that new growth can make it through summer it will be stronger and more capable to continue to grow in the future. That new growth learns how to sustain itself even in the harshest of environments.
The fall is normally a welcome change from the abrasiveness of summer. At the same time it begins to subject that growth to another elemental change that is pending. During fall, the foundation and structure of that growth are still there but the new growth may begin to change color or lose its leaves. Fall also tends to be a time of reaping your harvest. Funny how you can feel like you’re being pruned and still be receiving God’s blessings on top of it all in a totally unrelated way. Been there, done that. Just when that growth gets accustomed to fall, winter sweeps in bleak temperatures that are a polar opposite of summer. In the winter, most likely, that plant will look dead. It will have lost its leaves completely and no growth will be taking place. But if you were to dig deep enough you would find the roots, the foundation, of that growth are as strong as they’ve ever been. Those roots are biding there time until the warmth of spring returns to usher in that time of further growth.
What season are you in? It would behoove you to figure it out and attempt to understand what the Father is doing in your life. Sometimes, when we’re in a fall season it seems like we try to hold on to things in our lives that are not meant to be taken with us to that new season. The leaves (flawed mindsets, friendships, and more) start falling from our trees while we run around picking them up, wasting our energy, and attempt to glue them back on. God may be pruning you for a reason. Allow it to happen. I’m not saying it will be an enjoyable or easy thing but God knows what’s best for you. You may feel like you’re in a season where you just can’t catch a break. Most likely you’re in the middle of summer. Maybe you feel like you’re in a holding pattern and nothing around you is changing……a season where, seemingly, no growth is taking place. These feelings are normally characteristic of a winter season. Just wait a little while longer and trust Him…..God is doing something and when the season changes you’ll experience growth like never before—and I speak that prophetically over myself and over anyone who may be reading this. Whatever season you’re in, figure it out. Once you understand that it will help you understand why you’re enduring certain things and what you can expect. If you’ve given Him control of your life, give Him COMPLETE control. You may not understand what’s going on but trust that He’s working all things for your good [I realize I say that a lot but I feel it even more strongly every time I say it]!!! Stop trying to rush the seasons. Enjoy them as best you can. Yes, even the harder ones. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Eccl 3:1 God’s got a plan. You can rest easy knowing He’s up to something good. Those changes may not seem pleasant to you but there’s a reason for all of them. Each season serves a distinct purpose in your life. There’s a process you must undergo to receive your promise. Are you willing to wait? What’s YOUR season?!?