Seasons
Come along with me. It’s fall and the leaves are beautiful. Jump in the car-let’s go for a ride. I will put the top down in the convertible and we can slowly drive through the mountains together and look at the colors. As I turn on the radio for our drive, low and behold what comes on but that big hit from 1965 sung by The Byrds. As they begin to sing the words written by Pete Seeger in 1959, you quickly recognize the Bible verse. They are singing the song Turn, Turn, Turn. To this day it is the highest achieving song with the oldest lyrics. The actual only words written by Seeger were “turn, turn, turn” at the beginning of the song and “I swear it’s not too late” at the end of the song. The rest of the song was taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-9.
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to give birth, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
I think all of us realize there are seasons to our physical life in addition to the seasons of the year. We begin and we end. Perhaps we focus more on these age bracketed seasons with spring being the years of youth, followed by summer being the main part of life, followed by fall as we begin to slow down and feel our age and ultimately winter when we know our time here on this earth is limited. For some, these seasons are disrupted and life is cut short. From the time of our birth we realize we have no control over these seasons and how long they will last.
Far more important than the seasons of our physical life are the seasons of our spiritual life. In other words there are spiritual seasons within our physical seasons of life. No matter what season of life we are in, we could be experiencing one of the following four spiritual seasons: Spring,a period of new birth in our faith; Summer,where our faith is growing strong; Autumn, where our faith may be fading; and Winter,where our faith is dead or dying.
Abraham, in the autumn of life, through God’s promise, experienced the springtime of his faith. King David while in the summer of life felt the cold of winter in his faith life after his adultery. When God spoke to Noah, he enjoyed a springtime in his faith, however when he was asked to build the ark and his neighbors mocked him, he may have experienced an autumn. When at first the flood waters failed to recede Noah may have experienced a winter in his faith but when the dove returned with a twig, he was most likely returned to the joy of spring. I think we can see all of the seasons of faith in Peter’s life as well. FinallySimeon was clearly in the winter of his life when he met the Christ child and experienced the springtime of his faith.
In the Northern Hemisphere we are currently in the beautiful season of fall; however, each of usare in a different season of our physical life. The big question though is what season are we in spiritually? That is what really matters.
The good news is that unlike our seasons of life and unlike the seasons of the year, in which we have no control, we can control the seasons of our spiritual life. If you find yourself in an Autumn or Winter season of your faith journey, call out to God and ask Him to help you. Make the decision to spend more time in prayer and reading Scripture. God has promised that He will not abandon us. With prayer, study, and by the giving of ourselves to others we will again begin to experience a new springtime in our faith. The choice is ours. We must want a closer relationship with God and we must make time for God in our lives. So if you are finding yourself in a season far away from the Lord, make the decision to “turn, turn, turn. I swear it’s not too late.”
Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving us the seasons of the year. Each Season has its own unique beauty. Father, I also thank you for the seasons of life and for life itself. Please help me to experience a season of rebirth in my faith life. Help me to grow closer to you. I love you Lord! Amen.
Now click here, tap your toe, enjoy the ride in the convertible and listen to the Byrds.
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