Yesterday was winter solstice in the hemisphere I live in. It’s wet and cold, but all the lovers of sunshine had something to smile about yesterday as they peered out at the grey skies and the shortest day of the year. Why? Because with the arrival and passing of winter solstice they know that the earth is marching steadily towards summer once again. We may not be experiencing those summery days yet, but we’ve reached the turning point in in our journey around the sun, reminding us that the seasons will change.
Farmer’s watch the seasons, sowing or reaping according to the time of year because each season has a time frame that has been set aside for something to happen. So too we have seasons in our life for certain things to happen, but it’s up to us to discern the season we are in and to observe and understand what God has orchestrated for us in that allotted time frame.
The book of Ecclesiastes says, “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 (harvest) that which is planted.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)
Many times when we are struggling with discontentment it is because we are not gauging what season we are in, and fighting the natural ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit as He moves in and through our lives. Instead of embracing where we are and making the most of each day, we waste time wondering why we can’t be somewhere else. We can also fail to transition from one season in our life to the next, or we get ahead of ourselves wanting to be elsewhere before it’s time.
However God wants us to be content in the season we are in, and to take advantage of the benefits that each season has for us. Much like when you have a baby and everyone tells you “make the most of this season in your life because it doesn’t last long”. We all smile and nod our heads, but often quietly think to ourselves, “ahh but I can’t wait for the sleepless nights, dirty nappies and no time for myself to be over.” Little realising that it soon will be, and if we are not careful we will miss all the blessings right in front of us.
I often talk to the young people I know who want to be in relationships and married with a family, which is all very understandable. But perhaps once again they are not seeing the benefits or potential in the season they are presently in. So I tell them, along with my own single children, “enjoy this time, explore, grow, and develop who you are and all that God has for you to do and be, because this is possibly one of the only times in your life that you will be able to do whatever God leads you to do, without having to think of a whole lot of other people first. Try things, go places and enjoy and be content in this season as you believe for good things in the next, and trust God’s plans for your life.”
We all need to ask God to show us the right things to do during each season of our life, and to then do them. He doesn’t want us to miss out on anything, to get stuck and fail to transition, or to get ahead of ourselves so we run the risk of not being able to fully capture all the things that we were meant to discover and experience. We’ve go to be listening and obedient to God’s directions so that He can guide us through the times we are in.
Today, be content and trust God with the season you are in. Just as winter doesn’t last, this season you are in won’t last forever either. If your’e in harvest time then enjoy every minute of it, and be content in the space you are in. If it’s a season where you are being pruned, stretched or just waiting patiently– hang in there, learn, grow, and keep trusting God’s faithfulness to perfect that which He has started in you. Just as winter passes to give way to spring and then summer, this too will pass.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; your mercy, O Lord endures forever.” (Psalm 138:8)
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, old and heat, summer an winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)
Prayer: Lord please help me to have grace for the season I am in, and to continue to trust you. Help me to learn, grow and appreciate all that each season has to bring to my life. In Jesus name Amen
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