Here we are slap bang in the middle if winter and yet in the past we've had worse; rain, hail, sleet, snow, ice and frost. As the year ended and a new one was about to begin, the Lord gave me 2 words ... Seasons Change
Many people see the end of the year as a place for reflection, a place where they need to leave things behind. Some are sad to see the end of the year, it was all good and they're not sure what the new year will bring, others just can't wait for the new year to begin, they've had sorrow, lost loved ones, illness abounded, they've struggled with finances but seasons change and as Christians we too might find we have to change.
Instead of worrying about what has gone before or wondering what is yet to come we must simply trust, embrace and look forward to a new adventure with the Lord - you see, SPRING is coming.
A season of new life when we see the first of the spring flowers pushing through the earth, bringing beauty and reminding us of the importance of life.
It's a time for planting ... While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. (Gen 8:22).
For the Christian there is always something for us to do ... and if the Lord doesn't show us immediately what he has planned with us in mind then we can plant. Wherever we are, a small act of kindness, an encouraging word are all seeds waiting to be planted; seeds waiting for someone to come along and water and then as the summer months arrive the seeds have grown into beautiful flowers filling the air with a sweet perfume. Even our prayers can be seeds waiting to be sown and we wait to see the answer as we move into Summer with flowers in full bloom, the trees are full of luscious green leaves and fruit begins to appear on the trees. The ground brings forth vegetables that have been planted, the birds are singing and Song of Solomon 2:10 reminds us that the flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of birds is come and the sound of the turtle (dove) can be heard in our land and the song What A Wonderful World comes to mind.
Whatever it is that the Lord has planned for us in this season you can be sure it is for our good. We don't need to fret that we are surplus to requirements. The psalmist says that the blessed man is like a tree planted by rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3). The Lord will show us, if we wait on him, just what adventure He is about to take us on. It may even surprise us and take us out of our comfort zone or He may have plans to use us just where we are.
I said back in the Spring that even our prayers can be seeds and as we waited for answers to them we had moved into Summer. We were in a place of warmth and beauty and it seemed life was easier but now our prayers can maybe help reap the harvest as Autumn comes along with its abundant showers and spectacular colours of the leaves on the trees.
Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
The fields are white unto harvest
Harvest comes and it is here scripture introduces us to the gospel through the autumn feasts among the Israelites. Feasts such as
* Rosh Hashana the feast of Trumpets,
* The Day of Atonement and
* The feast of Tabernacles (Booths).
So a very quick run through
1. Rosh Hashana marks the start of the Jewish new year, the trumpet or shofar is sounded to call the people to repentance and prepare them for God's great judgment. It is also a time of hope when their name could be written in the book of life for the coming year. Ofcourse Rev 20 says the Lord wants to put our name in the Lambs book of life for all eternity not just a year..
Lots of things point to the gospel, not least cleansing and giving of a new heart. A little story .. a young man with infantile paralysis used crutches to get around. Asked one day by a colleague "why", he said infantile paralysis to which the enquirer remarked "how can you bear to go on and help others with such joy" The young man replied, oh, the disease never touched my heart. we can learn from that nothing is too difficult.
2. Day of Atonement when the priest would enter the most holy place and sprinkle blood from one goat onto the altar to atone for sins and symbolically transfer the sins of the people to the scapegoat.
3. Tabernacles begins at sundown coinciding with the final harvest of the year. This celebration is for God's provision in the wilderness, the manna from heaven and water from the rock and we know that Jesus is the rock and the living water.
Maybe we can go through the feasts at a future date but we see the trees letting go of what they no longer need, the autumn leaves begin to fall and the ground is a carpet of colour of reds, greens, gold, orange everything seems to be getting ready to slow down but Jesus at one point said Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”.
Fog descends as if getting the earth ready, ready to see the frosty glow of a winter morning where spiders webs seem frozen in time and what a glorious picture they make. The Lord has set all the borders of earth and has made summer and winter PS 74:17) and the seasons in between.
Seasons change but in all of this, I see the hand of an unchanging God.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Mal 3:6 For I am the Lord, I do not change
He is the one stability in an ever changing world. He is perfect and permanent in a world not so perfect. His nature will never change, he is ever faithful, loving, gracious, his mercies are new every morning the father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning James 1:17.
He will never be anything less than his word reveals him to be and his word stands unchanged for eternity.
He is God his power will never diminish. He can't be anything but who and what he says he is. He is in every one of these books that make up the bible and while we may change and the seasons may change He remains the same. Unchanging
So whatever season you find yourself in this year, remember you have an unchanging God who has you in mind and will see to it that you are right where He wants you to be. Will you breath new life into what you do in the Spring, will you flourish and blossom like the flowers in the summer, will you begin to slow down in the autumn to catch your breath or will you shine like the frost on the ground in winter, like the lights as Christmas approaches and we celebrate again the birth of our wonderful Saviour and start all over again as we see a new year coming in with new adventures and a fruitfulness that only the Lord can give us.
Dont worry or fret, don't hide away, don't ponder the what ifs just wait, wait on the Lord, he will strengthen your heart, wait on our unchanging Lord in your season of change.
