I live in a tropical climate and one thing I miss the most is having all four seasons. Where I live there is a saying that the only seasons are “hot and hotter!” But just like in many places around the world there are four seasons in a year—winter, spring, summer and fall, there are also meant to be seasons in our spiritual lives. As the writer of Ecclesiastes states:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
Ecc. 3:11
Notice how there is a season for everything in life. Not one thing, not some things, but… Every. Single. Thing. For example, there could be a season to go, a season to slow down, a season to wait, a season to date, a season to change, a season to refrain.
What is your season?
When we discover the answer to this question, we can embrace it, live it, honor it and glean from all God wants to teach us through it. When we are in a hurry to jump from one season to the next, or if we are oblivious to the season into which God is calling us, we can miss out on opportunities for growing closer to God and maturing both in our character and in our relationship with Him.
Really, the call in every season is to,
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Prov. 3:5-6
When we choose to go our own way led by our own desires, rather than follow behind God’s directives, we lose out on God’s promise to make our path straight. The Israelites give us a prime example of this when they decided to set out to claim the land God was giving them on their own prerogative, declaring they were ready and prepared when they really were not. Moses replied to them with this startling response:
“Why are you disobeying the Lord’s commands? This will not succeed! Do not go up because the Lord is not with you.”
Numbers 14:41-42a
Wow. What Moses seems to be getting at is that there are times when the Lord asks us to hold on, pause, and wait for His green light before we plunge ahead so that He can be with us when we go.
When it comes to beginning a new relationship, changing jobs, or starting a new venture we may not understand fully the reason why He hasn’t given us the green light. We may think we are ready and our own desires overrule our willingness to patiently wait on God. But if there is anything I know about this little thing called waiting and discerning the season, it is this: it is not easy, but so worth it. Sometimes it seems impossible! But be encouraged because when we seek the Lord for our season, He is faithful to reveal the reason for whatever He is calling us to do.
As we saw with the Israelites, God will send out His people at the proper time to explore “the land” He puts before us. If we do not sense He is giving us the green light, we are wise to pause on proceeding. If we do sense He is giving us the green light, then we can be sure He will be with us all along the way, making “everything beautiful in its time” (Ecc. 3:11). So I’ll ask you again:
What is your season?