Seasons

(Ecc. 3:1,17, Psalm 1:3, Rev. 22:2)

God is eternal but His working in the world has seasons.  He purposed creation and it had a specific time of His doing it.  He had a season of the flood and preservation of Noah in the time of His judgement.  And in the fulness of time, in that season that only God fully understood and knew, He sent His Son to be born of a young virgin and Jesus came on the scene.  In His life we see seasons also.  Yet now He has fully entered the eternal realm while He remains with us always even until the end of this present evil age.

Jesus had seasons.  After Bethlehem, He had a season in Egypt.  And the scripture was fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my Son”, as the Lord said through a prophet.  He grew as a child and young man in Galilee.  He was baptized by John, had a 40 day test in the wilderness, and then moved among the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As we follow Him, it will be so for us.  God works in our lives as we move among His people.  We know a time where we come to know Him as Father.  We became part of His new creation.  For many of us, an instant birth happens, a suddenness, a coming out of a womb where we were not yet aware of Him.  That is the awakening needed in this season.  It has been the same in every season.

I know a sister in Christ.  When we spoke about the president of the US, she said she prays that he will encounter Jesus.  That is the prayer for every man, woman, and child.  I have written elsewhere of my encounters with Him, those moments where a spiritual transformation takes place.  We need His continual presence, an awareness that we walk before Him.  The Lord spoke to Abraham, “Walk before me and be blameless.”  That is a walk of faith and confidence in the truth that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  You cannot hide your bad self from Him.  Your flesh is exposed and you are at His mercy.  There He shows you His lovingkindness, His grace.

Seasons bring growth.  In the natural, we know four seasons.  Think about them and how they reflect God’s working in your life.  The picture in the references in Psalms and Revelation uses the picture of a tree.  We are like trees.  Be planted in Him, in His Spirit.  Let your roots go deep into Him.  Don’t ever try to run away.  You will injure the roots already there and bring extra trouble.  When Israel rejected the Lord, it meant great trouble.  Learn to cooperate with His discipline.  Jesus said the Father would prune us to bring more lasting fruit.  I was struck by the picture in Revelation 22.  The tree of life, the Lord Himself, the Spirit, is in the middle of the street which is a river, and it is on both sides.  And it’s season of fruit-bearing is monthly.  That is a short season and a very large tree.  Those pictures are yet like parables.  I have learned to be careful not to over-analyze them but the Spirit brings understanding.  Allow the Spirit to speak.

The Lord and His kingdom are eternal.  They are not subject to time and seasons.  We are entering His kingdom.  We are in a process, on a journey, growing spiritually.  The process may move slowly at times and then suddenly accelerate.  As we walk with Him, real growth will result.  John describes the phases as children, young men, and fathers.  Read and consider that passage in 1 John 2.  I have found after many years of following and listening, I see aspects of all 3 yet in my life.  Growth is uneven for us.  But Jesus never changes.  While Smith Wigglesworth is often remembered for miracles, he was a teacher and preacher.  He said when Christ died and was raised from the dead, time ended and eternity began.  He was one who more fully entered that kingdom and so moved in great faith so that God was able to do more than most believed.  May we be so encouraged by that great cloud of witnesses and by Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, and press on into the heavenly kingdom. It is always time to seek the Lord.  Seek His face continually.