A change in season
First Love – Inspiring others to fall in love with Jesus “So let’s not get tired doing what is good. For in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9
If you are reading this and you live in the UK you will appreciate what fantastic weather we have been having recently. Today officially marks the first day of summer 2016 and we already have the flip flops and BBQ’s out. I love the summer season, for me it represents a time of rest and a time for family fun. What about you what is your favourite season? With each season there is always something wonderful to explore or enjoy and as one moves into another, I can’t help but marvel at how great our creator is.
In the book of Daniel 2:21 we read that God “changes times and seasons” and that “for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
God has also promised us that as long as earth remains “seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease”. When I think of the sovereignty of God and just how precisely he takes care of the seasons, I wonder why I am apprehensive of the change in seasons in my own life so much. For if he is in control, why need I fear at all?
We all go through different seasons in our lives, for instance there may have been a time to travel and explore and now you’re in a season of settling down and starting a family. Or a time to be educated and now is the time to work or having worked, maybe it is time to retire? We will all be able to testify to those seasons in our life that have been difficult, perhaps times of great sorrow or pain. It’s easy to be content and joyful when things are going great but what about those wilderness seasons, how do we get through them?
In my own experience it has been during those wilderness seasons that I have encountered our creator in a more intimate and powerful way. Perhaps this is down to the fact that the wilderness season feels like it is usually experienced alone. There is normally no competition for our attention or comparison for us to relate to as he leads us away from all of that so there is just you and Jesus. He removes us from the distractions and noise so that we will hear only his voice. Even though the wilderness season can be difficult, the beauty of his presence and comfort of his embrace so often make it worthwhile.
However, surviving the wilderness season is not easy and it can be a real test of our faith. You can feel alone, isolated, exposed to the elements of pain and hurt and the truth is we will not survive it completely alone. So here are a few survival points to remember when we are in the wilderness. First, we need to stay hydrated and drink from the fountain of life. God is the fountain of life, the light by which we see and he will lead us to a place of refreshing.
Secondly, we need to take shelter in him. One of my favourite psalms says that “Those who live in the shelter of the most high will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91). In his arms we find safety and rest. And finally, we need to be careful of what we eat during a wilderness season. Not everything around us in the dessert is safe to eat. Many have died in the wilderness because they ate something that looked edible but was in fact poisonous.
During our wilderness season we need to ensure that we do not give into temptation and guard our hearts and minds from the enemy. We need to feed on the word of God just as it says in Matthew that “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. His living word will protect you and keep you from falling into sin.
So what season are you in right now? It may be a time to laugh, a time to heal, a time to reap or a time to sow? No matter what season you’re in you can rejoice, for the Lord is with you always and will never leave you. So if today you do find yourself in the wilderness be confident of this, that he is closer than ever before and that it’s in these seasons of our life that we grow so that that when this season is over we are ready for all that God would have for us to receive in the next.
Until next time
