Changing Seasons

I am thankful to live in a part of Florida that still has seasons and we don’t live in eternal summer. We have the freezing temperatures of winter. We have pollen season; I mean spring. We have the blistering heat of summer and the mild cooling off of fall. Right now schools have let out for the school year and the number on the thermometer is rising. Seasons are changing. In preparation for summer course changes,  I was going through previous memory verse passages I have worked with my kids on. One passage in particular struck me.

​1 To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A 
time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? 10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every [thing] beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. - Ecc 3:1-11 KJV

This was an important passage of principles I want my children to learn. There is an appropriate time for everything. There are times to laugh and joke, but also time to be serious. There are times to give, but there are also times to keep things for ourselves. At first glance that is the principle of this passage but as I meditated on it there was a depth to this that is easily passed over. Seasons are important not just in nature, but God gave them to us for our lives.

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14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: - Gen 1:14 KJV

​From the beginning of time God instituted seasons, days and years. Nothing stays the same. Just as the earth rotates and revolves around the sun, our lives are in motion. What if we applied seasons to how we think of our lives?  We live in seasons.

We all have favorite seasons. I like spring and fall. Give me mild comfortable temperatures. I like it just warm enough to go to the beach or just cold enough for a bonfire. Other people love cold, cold winters, while others live for the heat of summer and days on the water. While we would love to stay in our favorite season, we can’t. Each season prepares for the next. Not just in nature but also in our lives. There are several plants that need cold to develop. If garlic doesn’t have enough cold it won’t develop cloves. Apple trees need cold to produce fruit. Several flowering bulbs won’t flower without the cold. Other plants need insects to pollinate them that hibernate through the winter and don’t come out till spring starts warming the earth. Sometimes the fruit God wants to cultivate in your life can only come through a particular season. Sometimes it is a cold winter where we feel isolated and alone, but can take the time to dig our roots deep in His Word. Then spring warms us. We come out of hibernation and can feed others with the nectar of His Word. Maybe it is a dry season where we have poured everything out. Remember it is a season. It won’t always be dry. A season of rain follows. If we remember it is a season and seasons change.

13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not [yet]. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard [it]. - Mar 11:13-14 KJV

All of us at one time or another, I think this is a passage of scripture that has puzzled us. Jesus goes to this fig tree looking for fruit but doesn’t find any. Mark here tells us that figs weren’t actually in season. The part that has always confused me was why did Jesus curse this tree when it wasn’t the time for figs. I have heard it taught that it was symbolism that we as Christians should always be bearing fruit. While it is true we should always be showing forth Christ in our lives, that never really meshed with this passage in my mind. When you look at verse Mark says, “seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon.” When Jesus looked at this tree, He saw something about the leaves that made Him think there was fruit on it. It was showing all the signs of being in a fruitful season, when it was not. He cursed the tree for giving the ilusion of a season it wasn’t in. How many times do we fight the season God has us in? We have the leaves of a season of prosperity and abundance, but our spirit is in a season of drought. How many times have we faked the season we want to be in when God has another path for us to walk.

21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: - Dan 2:21 KJV

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. - Act 1:7 KJV

Summer, fall, winter and spring happen to us all. But they are seasons that come and leave. Just as time passes on a clock, so does our lives pass. One day we may feel like we are walking through fire in the heat of summer, but time happens and now we have the cool rest of fall. Remember it is a season of life and just as a season in nature changes, time is ticking on the season you’re in. Each season has a purpose in our lives. Instead of fighting the season, look for the purpose. Maybe it is rest. Maybe it is growth. Maybe it is molding. Whatever the purpose, God has a plan. It is just for a season and seasons change. Hang on. Your season is changing.

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