I love the sunshine!
I love spring, and I love summer seasons. If it could be spring and summer year round,
I would be content. At least I think I
would.
I complained as I sat looking at the rain come down so
forcefully the other day while at work.
It was so gloomy outside. Yesterday
another light shower fell, but this time I could see the sun and white clouds
in the distance. We NEED the rain. Without it, everything would whither up and
die. It is the same way in the seasons
of life. We need those ‘storms’ that
blow into our life. It may seem like
we’re going to be blown away by the force of the wind as the pelting rain stings
our skin, but it is causing us to dig our roots deeper into Christ. It is in those times we find our shelter
under the shadow of His wings and learn to trust in Him more fully. At other times, He sends a light shower that
refreshes our soul as we see light and hope peeking up beyond the rain clouds.
We also need the autumn seasons when things are changing. Old things are dying off, but then the cold
begins to come as winter moves in. It
feels like everything is dead and barren.
The icy sting of the bitter cold cuts straight through to the bone as
snow begins to cover the ground.
Everything becomes ice covered, and at times we can’t feel anything
because the cold has caused us to become numb.
The longer winter seems to linger, the more we wonder if we’ll survive. We feel forsaken, desolate, and alone at
times.
We need that season of dying off to self, to old ways,
things that shouldn’t be in our life.
It’s in that time that we realize we are hopeless without Christ. It’s in that season that we realize how much
we need HIM. Don’t give up in that
season, spring is coming. Just when you
think everything within you is dead, hope and life will begin to bud and spring
forth as God creates a NEW thing in you.
God gave us each season for a reason. Each season does have a purpose. Just as changing seasons are necessary in
life, so are they necessary to keep balance, health, and well-being in our
spiritual life. I’m not ready for fall, because I know winter
will soon follow. I’d prefer the warmth of sunshine and to see
the flowers continue to bloom, but I know I also need the season for things to
die off that shouldn’t be in my life. It’s
painful, sometimes brutal, but what follows makes it all worth it as we once
again begin to see the things God is cultivating within us bloom and blossom as
spring returns.
No matter what season you may be in right now, hold on and
endure with patience. A new season is coming! God is working in you, and when He is
finished you will trade beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that you may be called the trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord!
(Isaiah 61:3)
**Published in the Feb 2015 issue of the
Pentecostal Herald – pg 41
https://issuu.com/pentecostalherald/docs/februaryherald_for_web
https://issuu.com/pentecostalherald/docs/februaryherald_for_web
