Seasons

Spring is starting to show it's face here in Upstate New York. It may have arrived later than we would have liked, but as always, with the years before, one day I woke up and I could just tell the difference in the morning sun and in the sounds of birds chirping outside of my window.

No matter how long, how dark, or how cold the winter is…spring always comes, seasons always change. Just as sure as the sun will rise and the sun will set, time will continue to march on, that's the way God fashioned our world, how He created the Seasons to be.

And so it is with our lives as well. We go through seasons of doubt, seasons of despair, seasons of unanswered prayers and heartache. But just as sure as the sunrise, our God is faithful, and no matter how long the darkness seems to last, He always brings us back into light, and will always renew our hearts.

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Seasons are a very real part of our Christian walk. Just as our earth needs winter, spring, summer and fall to renew the ground, the plants, animals and harvest; our spiritual selves need seasons too.

There are times when God needs to bring us through the darkness of winter so that we can learn to depend on Him more, to follow His leading, to cling to Him. There are times when our spirits need to be renewed or changed, and so we go through a season of spring where God is pruning us, shaping us, growing us for our greater good. And then there are the lazy days of summer, when the sun shines on our faces and we know in our hearts that God is good. And lastly, in the fall, after pruning and growing, and lavishing in the sunshine, our fruit is ripe for picking, and we are harvested, or used, to further God's work.

We need these seasons in order to be the people God always intended for us to be.

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As Christians, we don't so much mind summer or fall. Those seasons are pretty easy for us, when we go about our lives without too much resistance. But winter and spring…those seasons are tough, because those are the seasons when God is working hard on our lives, requiring more of us, and allowing us to go through trials that may hurt us. Those are the seasons when you may even feel alone, as if God has completely abandoned you, and you wonder if you'll ever see the sun shine again.

But what I want you to know, dear sister and brother, is that, God has not deserted you in your hard place. He has not left you alone, and He will not leave you there forever. Because just as the earthly physical seasons around us change, so do our seasons in life, and you can be sure that God is always working to bring you towards spring, to a place where His glory will be revealed in your life, and you will once again be able to feel the sun shining.

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I know there are many of you who are hurting right now, I know many of you find yourselves on the lonely path of winter, and it's been a hard road. I know some of you are carrying around broken hearts, searching for hope, and wondering if God really will ever answer your prayer.

I've been there. I've been in those hard places too. But for now, God has me in the seasons of summer and fall, and I am able to look back on the hard winter and proclaim: "God, You are good!" "God, You are faithful!"

I want to encourage you to keep waiting for God to move, keep anticipating His work in your life, and keep being faithful to Him as you wait. Ultimately, God will reveal Himself to you, and He will be glorified in your life, and even in your sufferings. The path you are on is not in vain, it is for a very specific purpose, and is part of the very perfect plan that God has for you.

The seasons around us will continue to change, and our hearts within also, but we can be sure that no matter what season God has us in right now, we can always trust Him, and He is always good.