Embracing the Season
The good thing about seasons is that they are always changing. To me, it seems like Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, come at just the right time each year. When I don’t think I can take another day in the dry summer heat in Louisiana, a cool Fall breeze emerges and gets me excited about the new season ahead!
Whether you are just approaching your sweet sixteenth birthday, or experiencing hot flashes from menopause, we are all in different seasons of life. Some of you are currently in a season of hope, happiness, and excitement, while others are in a season of sadness, loneliness, heartache, or grief. Some of you may be in a season of contentment, and you may be feeling like this is as good as it gets. Maybe you are experiencing a dry season and have forgotten what it feels like to be refreshed or renewed. There are seasons that you know are coming and that you prepare yourself for, whether it’s having an empty nest if your last child is about to move out of your home, or maybe a new baby is about to be born. There are seasons that hit you hard and unexpectedly that may consist of receiving some bad news, or a sudden death.
Whatever season you find yourself in right now, one thing is for sure: it won’t last. Now if you’re in a great season right now, those are probably not the words you want to hear. Life is hard and will throw curve balls at us when we least expect it. When I am going through a good season, everything seems to be going wonderful and I drown out the possibility of anything bad happening. It’s also the good seasons that I sometimes forget about God. Why would I need Him when everything is going right in my own little world? I’ve heard it said that we tend to treat God like a magical genie when we actually need Him for something, and that’s usually during the hard times.
From my own personal experience, the loneliest season in my life was the season that I grew closer to the Lord than I ever have before. When I felt like I hit rock bottom and felt alone, the Lord comforted me in a way that no one else possibly could. He was the only one that knew exactly what I was going through, and was the only one that knew what I needed during that time. He gave me strength and renewed my hope in Him. We have a loving God that allows us to go through difficult seasons to grow us spiritually and to deepen our relationship with Him. It’s during those seasons that our faith may be tested. I have learned over the years to embrace the hard seasons that seem hopeless, because those are the seasons that you may experience the Lord the most. If you’re going through a good season, I encourage you not to forget about the one who gave you this season, give Him the glory for the wonderful times in your life! Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
As the verse states above, God is in control of the seasons, and the timing of those seasons. We know His timing is perfect. Seasons change all of the time, but thankfully we serve a God who remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! There’s a song that I have been listening to on repeat called, “Same God” by Elevation Worship. I encourage you to listen to it because it’s such a great reminder that we worship the same God today that did all of the miraculous works that we read about in the Bible that was written thousands of years ago. Our world is changing so much everyday, but one thing is for sure; God doesn’t change. The different seasons we experience in this life can remind us of this truth: He is faithful in the lonely seasons, He is faithful in the dry seasons, and He is faithful in the “Can’t get any better than this” seasons!
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted’
A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silent, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace,”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
No matter what season of life you find yourself in right now, I encourage you to lean into the Lord and see what He wants to show you through it!