I’m guessing our unusual summer weather has something to do with this, but I’m desperately craving the fall season. It is my favorite of all seasons. I love scents of fall and the colors of fall. I enjoy the colder nights and the warmer clothing. Fall is hinting its way through these July days. Since I’ve been thinking a lot about the seasons of weather, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the seasons of life. So often nature beautifully reflects what we can see in our spiritual life and relationship with the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Life has a way of ebbing and flowing just like the seasons on our calendar. There is a time and a place for everything. Not every season is the same. In my Bible reading plan, I’m going through the book of Psalms. In the context of seasons, I can see how each psalm is written in a different season of the author’s life. Some of the psalms are joyous and full of praise. Some of the psalms are pleas for salvation and deliverance from the current struggle.
I find the psalms reliving to my soul. I sometimes feel guilty about the ups and downs I feel in my day to day life. Some days are glorious and I feel like I am on top of the world. During these up days, it’s easier for me to focus on God’s goodness and the blessing He has poured into my life. As a woman in ministry, I feel a strange pressure to always live in these up days. I wish I knew where in my leadership development, I grasped onto this belief that the world must always be sunshine and roses if you are truly serving the Lord. Now let me say, that there are times when I do feel life is full of sunshine and roses. It is easy to be grateful for these warm and wonderful seasons. However, in order for there to be seasons, there must be distinctive changes in the weather of our lives.
Not all the psalms are happy and joyful. I feel a strong connection to the psalms that are gut-wrenchingly honest about the low times. Life isn’t peachy all the time. Hard times come and the only way to get through them is to call out to God. The great thing about these psalms is that they highlight the need for God to intervene in our lives. Salvation comes only from the Lord! When I’m feeling down, I am reminded that I am not the only one to face struggles in this life. God’s anointed servants also had times of great pain, doubt and worry. This shows me that being a committed Christ-follower doesn’t mean I am always magically happy or I no longer encounter struggle. It is real to admit that some seasons of life are harder than others. The harder seasons are what open our eyes to our dependence on God. When things are going good, it’s easy to forget we need God. When all our comforts are stripped, we can see that all we need is God.
As I look outside at this moment, the sky is full of gray clouds with a few small patches of blue. The truth is not all seasons are extreme. There are season of extreme good and extreme bad, but most of the time each season has its mix of ups and downs. Even now, I feel like I’m entering a new season and leaving the old one behind. Each season only last for a time and then it passes on. I’m looking for God and good in all seasons. I know I have mentioned it before – Romans 8:28 has become my mantra as of late – God will work all things for good. This might not seem too shocking of a statement, but I don’t see the big picture like God does. Things that I don’t see as good, I know He will use them from my good and for my growth and development. In each season I will repeat that God has good in store for me and will use all my experiences for His glory. He can use the up times and the down times. He can use the seasons of sun and the seasons of rain.
Amy Scott's Thoughts 