Limiting Belief: This will never end.
Empowering Truth: No, there is a new season ahead. The lessons I am learning in this difficult season of life will make the next season even more abundant. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Jeremiah 29:11)
I just ended a busy season of the year. My schedule is always full from before Christmas until the end of Easter. As we move into the late spring and summer, my schedule starts to slow down, and I have some more margin created in my life.
It is important to recognize seasons in the year and also seasons in our lives. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says, “For everything there is a season.”
There was a season in life where my wife and I were the parents of young children who depended on us for almost every need. Now we are entering into a new season where our children still live at home but are becoming more independent as they enter into the Middle School and High School Years. And one day, we will enter the season where they mostly independent as they move on to college and careers.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 continues this thought by saying, “God has made everything beautiful in its time.” Know that in every season of life, there are blessings and challenges. My encouragement for you is to live fully in the season you are in right now. Enjoy every season for what it is. I have discovered that people don’t see the blessings of the current season because they are trying to live out a different season than the one they are currently in.
You Can’t Go Back
Sometimes we long to go back to a previous season. We want things to be the way they were. But you can’t go back. You can’t live in a previous season. It will never be the way that it was.
But this is the new season that God has given you. Give God thanks that you got to experience that previous season. But your calling is to embrace this season. See the new things that God is doing. Embrace the new responsibilities that he has given you. There are new opportunities available today that were not available before.
You Can’t Skip Ahead
Just like you can’t go back, you can’t skip ahead. You might want to move past this season to the next. But it takes time. That season will come, just not today.
If you are so focused on what may happen in the next season, you will miss what God is doing this season. It may be a difficult season that you are going through. But the lessons that you are learning this season will prove valuable for the next season. God is making you wiser and stronger. He is instilling faith in your heart. If you miss out on what God is doing in this season, you might not be ready for the next. Maybe this season is so difficult because you did not experience the growth God desired for you in the previous season. Trust that your perseverance and discipline in this season will be rewarded in the next.
Look and Listen
If you are struggling with this current season, then look and listen. First, look around and see what God is blessing and prospering. Ask him to give you the eyes to see. And when you see what he is prospering, join him in what he is doing.
One way to look is to make a list of things for which you have to give thanks. Another way to look is to see the places where other people are being helped and encourage. How can you help and encourage?
Don’t just look. Also, listen! Open the Word. Let God speak to you. It is all about opening your mind and heart to where God is leading you. If you have the eyes to see, he will show. If you have the ears to listen, he will speak.
Ross Witthoeft says
Inspiring…Thank you, Ross
Dael Spillman says
Thank you for the gentle reminder to live in the “present”, this season, and not miss what is right here, right now… What God has so graciously given us. The last season is gone because it is time to move forward. We are”t ready for the next season. Focus! Stay on the path! Listen, pray; listen, focus; listen, receive; listen, act; listen, learn…. All in God’s good time!!! Amen!!!
Brenda LoDrago says
I found myself needing to be
reminded of this valuable message
Thank you Pastor !