I only need to walk out onto my porch and see the changing colors and falling of the leaves, and feel the cool, crisp air to know that the season has changed. Autumn is here. Here where I live, we experience each of the four seasons to it's fullest. God has used these natural seasons to teach me about the spiritual seasons of my life.
The Word says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." God has shown me that we go through spiritual seasons in our lives just as we go through natural ones. Spiritual seasons can occur at different times that natural seasons, though and we can experiance different seasons at the same time only in different areas of our lives. I have experienced times when the natural season, the season of my marriage and the season of my ministry were all different. I find myself unusually in a time where all the seasons in my life are following the same pattern. It helps to be aware of these seasons to understand why we are feeling the way we are and why things may not be happening the way we think they should.
Autumn is a time of harvest, a time of reaping all that has been sown and tended in the past seasons. That is the joyous part of autumn. But this season is also a time of letting go. This can be the hard part. Just as the trees let go of their leaves to prepare for winter so must we be willing to let go of the things the God reveals to us to be ready for the next season.
Winter is generally a time of waiting. It can seem like a lonely time. In the natural, the trees and plants look dead, people stay in more and we don't see our neighbors as much. But under the surface of the ground, where noone can see some very important things are happening. Roots are being fed and nurtured. Harmful insects are being killed off. The soil is being prepared for spring growth. In the spiritual season of winter we can feel that God isn't using us as much, maybe to the point of feeling forgotten by Him. He may not speak to us a much. But as we continue to seek Him through this winter season, deep inside He is working, even if we don't realize it, to prepare us for the next season.
Spring is a time of newness, in the natural and in the spiritual. The grass becomes green again and trees and flowers bud proving once again that there is life in winter. Spiritual spring can be an exciting time. New vision, new ideas, fresh anointing, dreams coming to life again. It's when we start to see the growth of those things God was working on inside during the winter time.
Summer is a time of nurturing what was begun in spring. In the natural, gardeners work in their gardens, families gather for reunions, farmers tend their fields in anticipation of the fall harvest. In the spirit this is a time to enjoy all that God has done through the past seasons. It's also a time of growth.
Right now I seem to be in an autumn in all areas right now. Autumn is not my favorite season mainly because it tells me that winter in coming. I don't like cold, snow or ice at all. I often have to fight depression in autumn because I know what's coming. But God has shown me something else about seasons. Ecc. 3:11 says, "He has made everything beuatiful in it's time..." I was driving through Indiana last weekend and couldn't help notice the colors of the trees. The deepest reds, brilliant oranges and the brightest gold I have ever seen. It was breathtaking. And even though I don't like snow, I have to admit the when I look outside and see a fresh blanket of snow glistening in the morning sun, it is beautiful. I like spring because summer is my favorite. But I have learned that to have spring, there must be winter.
Eash season we go through is important and necessary. God is doing a very special work through each one. We need to understand this and allow Him to do as He wills in our lives. Just as in the natural, each season also has it's storms. But as we come under the caring hand of God, He will guide us through each one. He is a loving Father and His desire is to shape us into who He created us to be. With His help we can make the best of each season.