Times & Seasons

December is the month we traditionally celebrate the birth of Christ. In this season, it is common to hear people say “Jesus is the reason for the season” beckoning us to remember His birth and not to concentrate so much on the busyness that the season can bring. Collectively, most people who call themselves Christians celebrate the birth of the Messiah at this time of year even though Scripture and history shows us that Jesus was actually not born on December 25. We also mix in other traditions such as Santa Claus, decorating, parties and gift giving which is what causes the distraction and overwhelm for many that created the need to be reminded by that phrase “the reason for the season”. It is good to celebrate together holy days and milestones as a remembrance of the grace and goodness of God. In the Old Testament, this was how God’s people were instructed to pass on traditions and stories from generation to generation. Many festivals and symbols to mark special events were common and expected in those days. This year as we reflect on this season, let’s also take a few moments to reflect on all seasons of life, the reasons for them and how we can mark them for remembrance to pass on to other generations.

Seasons

One of the most well-known scriptures about times and seasons can be found in Ecclesiastes 3. “There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens”.

Seasons of life. There is a time and purpose for everything under the heavens-on this earth.

Humans are always in a hurry. Internal and external noise is especially high in this season in the United States. When we find ourselves overwhelmed and distracted, God knows that about us and is not mad at us for being that way even if we are not doing all we think we should be doing. I heard Graham Cooke teach that God wants to go with us when our thoughts wander to bring back our distracted minds. He travels with us especially when we are not in a place of peace. Instead of being frustrated with ourselves, we can lean into who God wants to be for us to bring us back to that perfect peace.

How could the current season of your life bring you closer to God and all that you were born to be? Each season allows us to learn more about how to be like what we were created to be – an image-bearer and reflection of Christ living in you from transformational faith and trust. Each season is about learning about becoming more like Them – Creator, Redeemer and Teacher.

What season are you in right now?

Globally we are all experiencing a common crisis but we are not experiencing it in the same way. As COVID-19 has defined much of 2020, differences in cultures, access to healthcare, and economic factors have us in different stages during this crisis season. We have also seen political shifts, racial conflicts, fires, hurricanes and so much more but we still each experience each predicament in different ways and from different points of view. Adding to all the extra of 2020, we each are experiencing our normal seasons of life. All of our life is made up of times and seasons. Each season contains lessons needing to move to the next.

Who is God for you during this time?

There is a story I used to watch on video with my girls called “The Magic Thread”. It was from The Book of Virtues by William Bennett. The story is about a boy who was given his life in a magic ball of thread. Any time he didn’t want to be where he was in life, he could give a tug on this ball of thread and his life would move past that season. But he could never go back. Eventually, he had pulled the thread so many times to get past difficult times or times he just didn’t want to deal with, his life was over and he had missed out on most of his life including the good parts. I think of this story often as I have learned about times and seasons and how God uses both to bring us closer to Him and to the kind of life that is full of peace and contentment.

Don’t get ahead of your season. You cannot skip any of your seasons without consequences. Although God lives in eternity, we are placed in time for a purpose. Kingdom people are steady because God is steady. No matter what the season we are in, we can be steady. We can have peace. We can have joy. We can have all that God has for us through the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We can find it in his never changing nature when we listen to his still small voice.

Learning to hear from God

God promises to never leave us nor forsake us so we can believe it is normal for God to be speaking all the time and into every situation. It takes practice and faith that we can hear from the spirit of God to give us insight and revelation to help us. God speaks internally in our spirit and mind when we are tuned into it. God does not have any crises. Nothing is a surprise to God. He knows what is going to happen. We must learn to tap into the revelation so we can be prepared in season and out. God will save us in and through the storms of life and be with us as we celebrate victories. Understanding God does not remove us from every uncomfortable situation but instead He wants to be with us. Once we learn to hear from God, we can control our thoughts and actions for any season. Knowing there is a purpose for everything, we can stay in continuous peace when in celebration of good in our lives or when we are grieving or mourning.

Who has helped you in a previous season?

We gain wisdom from going through a season. We can ask for wisdom from the Lord and it will be given to us. Many times it comes through another woman who has already walked through the same season whether that is personally or professionally. Gleaning all that you can from it to be used later for yourself or for someone else is the purpose for every season. Accumulating Wisdom Warriors to help you through the next season while becoming one yourself is an amazing benefit of community with other Kingdom minded women. Hope is found in knowing that everything in life is just a season. It is temporary; just one segment of time moving you to another segment of time.

You decide how to live through each season?

This year has me re-evaluating many things including past seasons, lessons learned and yet to be learned. Some lessons have not been learned yet so I know I have a “do-over” coming. I have begun to flip the switch in my mind from “this is happening to me” and have begun to look at each situation as “how is this happening for me”. Asking myself “How can what is happening right now prepare me for the next season?” I know that seasons are temporary. Even if some are longer than others, nothing on this earth is eternal. It is all bound by time and seasons. Our God does not live in time. They are firmly placed in eternity, with no time, so their perspective on our situation is quite different from ours. Celebrating victories and breakthroughs with others and passing on our wisdom to other generations completes each season and ushers us into the next.

I want to encourage you to begin to look at life from Their perspective and not yours because becoming more like Jesus is always the reason for every season. Embrace it. Own it. Face it. Take all that it has for you. Don’t leave any of it to waste. It is just a season and another one is on its way. May God open your eyes and heart to all that is available to you for your wisdom and grace during this season and every season to come and remember to pass it on. The reason for every season.