SEASONS

As the air grows warmer, and the trees begin to clothe themselves in greenery, I am reminded of the perpetual ebb and flow of the seasons around us.  Just as surely as summer explodes into fall, I know that fall will eventually fade into winter which, in turn, will yield to spring's regeneration.  Many people complain about certain seasons, or various aspects of them, but I have grown to appreciate them all.  Just as there are challenges to every season, there are also just as many blessings that can be found in each one. 

 

Each season is unique and offers opportunities or tasks that are specific to that time, and that time only.  People who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries understood this much better than we do in this modern age.  They paid close attention to the changes of seasons and the phases of the moon.  "Moon seasons" governed when the best time to fell wood, plant various crops, or drive cattle to market would be.  There were things that our ancestors would do under a waxing moon that they wouldn't dream of doing under a waning moon.  They knew that if they waited till the second running of sap in the fall to fell trees for fencing, the wood was sturdier and lasted two-thirds longer.        

 

Solomon, who received a gift of divine wisdom from God, wrote in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).  He realized that, just as there are seasons (or phases) in the natural world, there are also seasons that we pass through in our lives.  As much as we'd like to, and try to, we cannot control the seasons of life any more than we can govern spring, summer, autumn, or winter.  Some phases of life bring great blessings.  In them we may flourish and find great peace and growth.  Others, however, may bring heartache, grief, tragedy, and tribulation.  This is the nature of life and living.  Regardless of the season of life that we find ourselves in, there are three things that we must understand about the seasons of life.  

 

The first thing that we must learn about the seasons of life is that we cannot fully comprehend God's purpose, or why He allows or does the things that He does.  "He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." (Ecclesiastes 3:11b).  Yes, He gives us glimpses into His plan as it relates to us directly, and the more we mature as Christians, the more we grasp; but much of what God does is veiled to us.  It's not that He's keeping secrets from us, it's just that we are not always in a position to understand.  We are yet very worldly in our comprehension of things that are heavenly.  At one point in His ministry, Jesus began to share with His disciples God's plan for Him to be delivered to the Jews and be crucified.  Peter was upset at the very thought of this and denied that it should come to that.  He simply could not fathom what God was up to.  We must learn not to demand answers from God which we are not prepared to handle.  If it is important for us to see it, God will give us light.  Our anguish over such things will not bring us to a better understanding.  In the end, we must come to the faith of Job who said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." (Job 13:15).  

 

The second thing that we can understand about the various seasons of life is that, "He hath made everything beautiful in His time." (Ecclesiastes 3:11a).  In a way, all of the seasons work together to produce an ultimate outcome: life.  The decay of fall, the winter snows, the violent winds and storms of spring, and the intense heat of summer all work together to bring about the regeneration of the earth.  The world brims with new life - bringing forth its bounty, and reseeding the ground to perpetuate its kind. We can get caught up in any one phase of this great plan and lose sight of the grand scheme of things.  So it is with our individual lives.  Our heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, and we can be assured that, "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28).  The key here is that all things work together for good.  Each "thing" taken separately may not seem good to us at all, but placed in context with everything else in our life we can know that God will work good according to His purpose for us.  In His time it will be beautiful, you can trust in that.

 

Finally, we can and should learn to recognize the seasons that we are passing through, and embrace them.  Raising kids, having an empty nest, working a job or jobs, losing a job, retiring, being single, falling in love and marrying, having an accident, losing someone close - all these things and countless others define the seasons of our lives.  It is important that we allow God to teach us what is essential for us to be doing during any given season.  If it's time to mourn, then mourn.   If it's time to dance, then dance.  If it's time to weep, then weep.  If it's time to laugh, then laugh.  If it's time to speak, then speak.  If it's time to keep silence, then be silent.  God's Word helps us to recognize the seasons of life, and to seize the opportunities that each one brings.  We are told in scripture, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." (James 1:5,6a).  Too often we waste time anticipating the next season, without fully dealing with the one at hand.  Children can't wait to grow up.  Singles can't wait to get married.  Couples can't wait to have kids.  Workers can't wait to retire.  Instead of embracing (or dealing with) the season we are in right now, we miss much of what God has for us along the way.  His Holy Spirit is a constant source of comfort, direction, and hope to the Christian.  By learning to walk in the Spirit with God rather than in the flesh, He is able to help us navigate the seasons of life.  Our lives are then enriched and spiritually fruitful as we allow each season to work in us that good thing that God intends for us in this moment.  We will then know that it is indeed true that, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”