Seasons

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Have you ever noticed that God deals with us in terms of seasons? There generally is no rigid time structure per se with God, but rather a span of our life that’s governed more by events and understanding than by time itself.  

- “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.” (2 Chronicles 15:3)

- “My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.” (Job 30:17)

- “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

- “He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.” (John 5:35).

Seasons are timeframes of process, a God-appointed era for something to occur, evolve, grow, die and come into fruition. A season is a not predetermined by time, although they are time segments of our lives.

Seasons are a time of change and personal growth. They are transition periods. Usually, we do not see or understand the change as it occurs nor do we see any clear end to the season we are in. This puts us in a faith position where we must be totally dependent and reliant upon God. This is key. Growth and understanding are always God-dependent. The more independent the soul, the more that soul remains out of season, out of touch and lost.

God forms and shapes us through the experiences we have in life. Positive and negative life experiences and most importantly, how we react to them, is the mold in which we are formed. God works with us purposefully through seasons, these extended sections of our lives to better us, strengthen and to keep us in the path of salvation. But remember, God works in partnerships. Any season we are in, the challenge faced or in confronting one of life’s little curveballs, it is to be dealt with in tandem with God. God won’t do it by himself. You can’t do it by yourself.

And with any season of the year, our seasons of winter and want will be followed up with the season of summer. But we have to learn and grow in winter before we can move on to the abundance of summer.

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Each season will either complete us or perfect us. How we react to each season will determine which. The completed person is done with that season. They have gained and learned all they ever will from that particular time period of life, which isn’t much because they did it without God. Bumped, bruised and dinked, they’re glad that season is over. Ready or not, they move into the next facet of their life, hoping that it will be better than the last. Unsubstantiated hope is all they have for they profited nothing from the experience.

The perfected person allowed God to work with them. They trusted God and learned from the experiences. Regardless of whatever happened during that season, the perfected person pressed forward in the high calling of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The completed person simply survived. The perfected person learned, grew and profited.

There is a reason and purpose for life and all of the experiences we have in it. Life here on earth is nothing but a season, a transition period prepping us for the world to come.

Bill Hitchcock