Seasons of Life

Spring, summer, fall or winter … which would you say is your favorite season and why? I would have to say summer is mine. I love the warmth of summer and being an educator, school is out … it’s vacation time!

What if your favorite season lasted all year? What if there was only one season? God knew what He was doing when He created the different seasons. Just like nature has four different seasons, our lives seem to have different spiritual seasons, too.

Spring

There are seasons in our spiritual lives when everything seems to be new and blooming! Spiritually, this may be when we first come to know Christ as our Savior: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Or, it may be a time when our relationship with the Lord has been renewed or strengthened. Reading God’s word, fellowshiping with other believers, praying and spending time with God every day is encouraging and exciting! Our Christian walk feels new and fresh.

Summer

In summer, life seems warm and relaxed. A level of spiritual maturity and stability has been reached for a time. And although our spiritual lives may seem consistent, there may be extremely hot periods of spiritual challenges and sudden storms to test the depth of our faith. God can use these times of turbulent trials or spiritual tribulation not only to test us, but also to strengthen us and make us appreciate His peace when it comes.

Fall

Fall brings the “falling away” of things in our lives like children leaving home, moving to a new place or leaving friends behind. Yet we must remember that it is all in preparation for new things God is bringing! There may be things that bring relief when they fall away such as bad habits or the chains of materialism, but there may be other life circumstances we don’t understand such as the loss of a job or the loss of good health.

These times may even cause us to doubt God. Even Elijah went through such a period after his heated “summer season” dealing with Ahab, Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. Following his great victory for God at Mount Carmel, Elijah ran into the wilderness filled with fear and doubting God. He experienced a season of coolness and falling away, yet God was consistently faithful.

Winter

Finally there is winter, a time when the joy and beauty and variety of the other seasons have faded away. A time for the weary soul to take a break from its labor and rest. Although this season may appear dreary and confining, even these times are needed for the new growth coming in spring.

God, in His wisdom, provides intervals of rest for the earth. He knows that we, His children, also need times of rest. So no matter which of the spiritual seasons it feels like we’re in, there is good taking place because of God’s work in and through us. On those dreary, overcast days, it is important to remember that even though we can’t see the Son, He is there!

The Cycle Continues

Seasons come more than once, and so during our spiritual lives we get to enjoy several springs, summers, falls, and winters. Thank God for His loving care in every season of life.

—Adapted from creativebiblestudy.com