What Season Are You In?
Introduction: We know this is a New Year and thinking of past trials, mistakes and looking forward to a New Year with new plans! As we look at this year, I would love for you to consider how this could be different than ever before! We go through seasons even in our ministries. As a pastor, I remember going through seasons of learning. God showed me new ways of meeting our needs and putting His plan together.
Eccl 3:1 – “For everything there is a season, a time, for every activity under heaven”.
Solomon’s point in this section is that God has a plan (a span of time and life) for all people. God is a God of order and there is a beginning and an end. Let’s talk about our seasons.
1. HE PROVIDES CYCLES OF LIFE. And each of these cycles have specific work to do.
My Life: We had our “years” as a traveling evangelists from place to place preaching and teaching. Then we had our years of “youth work” and monthly preaching camps, rallies, planning and speaking to youth. Then of course, we were pastors of some wonderful congregations putting our lives into reaching a certain community.
Now I am sharing and encouraging from my home.
What season are you in? What can you do to maximize your energy and time as you give “this season your all”? The passion, call and burden must still be there giving us the “go ahead” in His name.
What changes do you need to accept and then move forward? It’s so easy to become complacent. It can be “just another Sunday”, “just another sermon to prepare” or this could be the greatest “season” of your life!
2. TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
The secret to peace with God is to discover and accept and appreciate God’s perfect timing. We can doubt or even resent God’s timing by just “living in the now”. We are here for “such a time” today. What is my assignment? Yes, I loved “the old-fashioned revival weeks”, camp meetings, etc. But those were experiences that helped make me who God wanted me to become so I could be more effective today.
3. ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR.
These are His gifts!
We need to revere and stand in awe of our Father and what He has done:
Be open to what and how He wants to move today and tomorrow in this season for you. It may look totally different.
Take time to enjoy “His gifts” that He has available for you in this season.
Recognize that it is God who gives the assignments and the rewards for this very season…not us.
I’ve never known anyone, at the end of their life, who served God faithfully, that ever regretted serving Him. There may have been difficult times and even times when they didn’t understand “the season” they were in, but they learned and even in the midst of trials, they experienced joy.
God is teaching me: He is in control of my life, my days, my place, and even helping develop my gifts. This is really all about God in ANY season!
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