What type of season are you in and how do you traverse through it? How, do we know when a season begins and ends? I have always related seasons to the four seasons of nature. But recently I came across a short reel on Facebook and the young preacher mentioned twenty-eight seasons found in Ecclesiastes. Which was a ‘oh yea’ moment because I have talked about the time to weep and time to laugh, I guess I never really thought about them as seasons.
What is a season? It is a period of a specific time in life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Throughout our life seasons change, and we look at the time periods based on the good and bad that happens. But if we judge each season by our own understanding, we can miss the goodness of God in the season of change we are in. Most people do not like unexpected change. It is one thing to choose to change and another to have it thrust on us.
Ecclesiastes 3: 2-8 “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; 3) A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5) A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6) A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7) A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.”
No matter the time and season we are in we can be assured as God’s children He will direct our paths. Even when we do not understand what is happening and cannot answer the whys and why nots God is still in it with us. Recognizing the season, we are in is helpful to staying in peace when we have unanswered questions. God does not always tell us all the whys because then we would not have to trust Him.
Life does go through seasons the way we navigate seasons can help us or hinder us. The first thing to do is put your trust in Jesus, he will not leave you nor forsake you. Trusting God means you are relying on Him for your life and for His direction. It does not mean you do not do anything it means your surrendering your decisions to Him and trusting His word to lead and guide you. Trusting God means I let go of worrying about the outcome. I let go of trying to figure out what I cannot humanly know.
The second thing in navigating through seasons of life is having patience. That is not an excuse to do nothing it means having a good disposition while you wait. Within the scripture passage in Ecclesiastes there are good seasons which we all enjoy. They also need navigating because seasons change so enjoying, saving and building through it helps us to be prepared when the season changes.
Patience is one of those words no one likes to hear but it is so necessary to growth. We will not become mature without it. Let patience work in you a good disposition as you wait because Christlikeness is being developed within you.
I asked how we know when a season begins and ends. That is a hard question to answer because it is different for each one of us. A season can be a long or brief period. The end of a season is factored by God and how we grow through what we are going through. God does not cause the terrible things that happen we live in a fallen world, but we can trust in His Sovereignty and care as we go through each season, we are in.
No matter what season you are in you can be assured God will go through it with you.