The Wilderness Chronicles; Day 2

Embracing the Season

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven: Ecc 3:1 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in ITS time Ecc 3:11a (NIV)

Life is made up of seasons. A season is simply a period of time with certain unique characteristics, in most cases we cannot pre-empt a season, we can only take advantage of it. The Teacher begins his discourse by reminding us that there is a time for everything, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time of humbling yourself under the mighty hand of God and a time of exaltation. There is a time to feed the 5,000, to touch all those who are infirm, to preach the Word to the poor, to teach in parables but there is also a time to go to a solitary place to pray, to draw back a little to recharge, to be led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Hmm.

Seasons change, that is an inevitable and irrevocable truth. The best example comes from the weather and whether your geography exposes you to experiencing 2 or 4, we know that after the rain comes a dry spell, chilly autumn winds come after a hot (or kinda hot..!) summer. To embrace the season is to understand and walk in the knowledge that although seasons change, I serve a God who remains the same. I am safe in the arms of His love. Friends come and go, it hurts doesn't it to know that those who we have shared the intimate details of our lives can so easily betray our trust or are so quick to throw it away due to petty jealousy or inconsequential arguments. Embrace the season of life you are in now, it's the only way to enjoy it. Don't wait for the wilderness season to be over before you rejoice, rejoice anyway. Don't wait for the prayer to be answered before you give God praise, praise Him anyway. Don't wait for capital, trust God and start something anyway.

Embrace the season, don't make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. Don't give up, don't fight it, shaking your fists at the dark skies will not prevent the rain from falling, wearing a bikini in winter does not pre-empt a summer's day. Embrace the season, acknowledge the season of life and behave accordingly. He makes everything beautiful in its time, not His time but its time. Sow when you should, so you can reap when you should. Agree with God that you will do what He wants you to do when He wants you to do it. Embrace the season, don't fight it, assess it, grow from it, you learn more about yourself in the storm than when it is calm.

Autumn leaves
Golden mass on the streets
How can this be
But for a few weeks
they were green as can be
Shall I cry
as I stare
at bare branches
No
For I know
this is the way of creation
and though the days are shorter
and the nights colder
as winter approaches
I smile
For spring shall come
with new life
and beautiful hues
as my beloved tree
adorns herself once again
I wrap up a little tighter
and embrace my season

Selah