Recognizing Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 [ESV]

¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.

One christian author writes: "Newcomers.....get the false impression that there will hardly be much of a winter, so they continue.....sightseeing and relaxation with little regard for the deep freeze that inevitably arrives.

Seasoned souls are not so foolish....they use that brief interlude to prepare for winter's bitter blast. Early on I have learned a valuable lesson, that winter can be endured with much greater success if you prepared for its arrival."

Learn to recognize your life's seasons.........

A change-of-season can come disguised as a job lay-off or the loss of a loved one. It can come as a new relationship or a promotion. It can also manifest itself in a sense of restlessness: a feeling that you've outgrown something that once excited and challenged you.

Season are growth opportunities that keep you progressing towards the ultimate fulfillment of God's plan for your life. Sticking with the familiar can be fatal. It's dangerous to wait until your circumstances change before making a move that God has already ordained.

The best way to avoid that is by

a) staying closely connected to Him; b) developing your spiritual radar; c) moving without doubt or hesitation whenever He says it's time.

So while you're taking down your decorations and Christmas lights, take down those old attitudes that are hindering you from confidently moving into the next season God has for you.

The art of living means recognizing the seasons, navigating through them, and squeezing the joy out of every minute en route.

Wisdom

“For the Lord gives wisdom.” Pr 2:6 NKJV

To succeed in life you must do these three things:

(1) Decide what’s important. The story’s told of a family who moved to the country to get away from the city. They decided to raise cattle so they bought a ranch. One day a friend visited them and asked what they’d named it. Dad said, “I wanted to call it The Flying-W, but Mom wanted to call it The Suzy-Q. One of our sons liked The Bar-J, but our daughter preferred The Lazy-Y. So we compromised and called it The Flying-W, Suzy-Q, Bar-J, Lazy-Y Ranch.” The friend asked, “How are your cattle doing?” Dad replied, “We don’t have any. They didn’t survive the branding.” Come on—decide what’s important to you!

(2) Prioritize your time. Too many of us are like the store owner who got so busy trying to keep the place clean that he forgot to open the front door. The reason you’re in business is to serve customers and make a profit, not get distracted by secondary things. Base your life’s decisions on your priorities. And if you need help figuring out what they are, ask God: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

(3) Learn to motivate yourself. Most times, nobody else will. When tragedy struck his life, we read: “David encouraged himself in the Lord” (1Sa 30:6). You need to learn how to do that too. Jude writes: “Building up yourselves…praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude v. 20). To succeed in life you must learn to encourage yourself, pray and build yourself up.

LAUNCH OUT

“Launch out into the deep.” Lk 5:4

Dr. Robert Schuller’s hobbies include raising koi fish. Asked why some grow big while others stay small, he replied, “If a koi fish lives in a small tank it will never grow longer than two or three inches. In a larger pond they can grow up to ten inches long—in ponds the size of mine they’ll get to be eighteen inches long—but if they live in a huge lake where they can swim and stretch, they can grow up to three feet long. The size of the pond determines the size of the fish. Similarly, little ideas in little-thinking minds produce little achievements. But little ideas embraced by big-thinking minds produce enormous achievements.”

Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you” (Mt 9:29). The size of your faith and your vision determines the outcome of your idea. Edison had to install electric lights for free in an office building before anyone even came to look at them. The first sewing machine invented was destroyed by a mob in France. Morse waited for ten years before the world showed any interest in his telegraph. And when the idea of traveling by railroad was introduced, people scoffed because it was widely believed that traveling at thirty miles per hour stopped blood circulation in the human body.

Ronald E. Osborn said, “Undertake something difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try something beyond what you have already mastered, you’ll never grow.” You attain in direct proportion to what you attempt, which is why Jesus said to His disciples: “Launch out into the deep.”

purpose

'I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt.'

Jer 31:4 NKJV

Don't allow anybody but God to tell you what you're worth. That's too much power to give anyone. If people can label you, they can limit you.

Until you know how God feels about you, you'll know neither your worth as an individual nor your life's purpose. You'll worry about how you look, what others think, and whether or not you're going to succeed in life.

But when you believe God's promise, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love... I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt' (v.3 NKJV), you're free to focus on improving and reaching your God-given potential.

What life has torn down, God can rebuild. If you're suffering from lack of self-worth, here's a prayer to help you: 'Father, sometimes I think I'm of no use, that I can't do anything right, that nothing I do is ever good enough. But I know that when You look at who I am, and who I can be - You see Jesus.

And He is good enough!

It's good enough that He shed His precious blood to cover my unworthiness.

Good enough that He paid the price for every sin I would ever commit.

Good enough that He's working to perfect me each day.

Good enough that He sees me as 'righteous' in Christ.

Good enough that He's interceding for me at the throne of God right now.

Good enough that He's mending the broken areas of my life and making me whole.

Good enough that His love for me is everlasting and guaranteed.

Thank You, Father, that everything Jesus does is good enough, and that in Him,

I am good enough too!'

Grow into your destiny

God prepares us for our destiny, much like a tree. He plants seeds of passion and desire in our hearts. As we feed our faith, we grow into our destiny. It is important to realize that seasons of pruning and refining, like a tree, are for growth. Many times before fruit can be added, distractions must be subtracted.

Have you ever seen a tree that has been pruned? It looks like it had a bad day, but pruning stimulates fruit production. Any time God is "hacking away" at you, it may look like you went backwards, but if you'll learn to have faith, when you look like this it just means you're headed to a new level of productivity in God!

1 Peter 1:7 (New Living Translation)

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Sometimes God works on you, cutting away the excess and whittling you into something completely different. When you think you'll never produce fruit, God works a miracle.

Jesus said,

John 15:5 (New Living Translation)

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

As long as you stay connected to that Vine, which is Jesus, it doesn't matter what you go through. He is your source for life, healing and destiny. Whatever problem you face, just stay in God's presence and your fruitful days are coming. God is your source......

If God has given you a vision and a calling, don't give up. Get into His presence and wait for your appointed time.

Habakkuk 2:3 (New American Standard Bible)

³"For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.

Just like a strong tree, God is raising you up and nurturing you for a divine purpose. Don't give up!!!!