The wise man wrote about seasons in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9. He said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” He continued contrasting seasons and the happenings in seasons of people’s lives.
While every individual experiences seasons in life, not everyone experiences the same season at the same time. While some people are planting, others are harvesting. While some are tilling the ground, others are waiting for rain. To some degree, with the ability to choose some things in our lives, we can choose our seasons, or at least our reactions to our seasons.
Seasons of Life
The farmer knows and understands seasons. He is not frustrated by them. He plows and plants in the spring, he waters and weeds in the summer, he harvests and preserves in the fall,
To some degree, with the ability to choose some things in our lives, we can choose our seasons, or at least our reactions to our seasons.
and he puts the garden to rest for the winter. He does not get upset with himself or angry with God if he is not harvesting in the spring. He doesn’t throw temper tantrums and lose sleep if seeds are not sprouting in the winter. The farmer knows.
In 1925 Thomas Chisholm wrote what was to become a classic hymn of the Christian world—“Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Chisholm became a minister at the age of thirty-six, but continuing sickness forced him to retire after one year. Even with a lifetime of ill health, he still spoke of God’s faithfulness to him. In the second stanza, Chisolm delved into the realm of nature to express this faithfulness:
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
The seasons are opposite of each other in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For example, Chris and Paula Richardson, missionaries to Madagascar, experience two shocks when they go to and come from Madagascar—cultural shock but also season shock. They leave Madagascar in the summer and return to the United States in winter. They leave wearing tropical clothes and arrive to bundle up in wool scarves and coats. However, even with the changing seasons throughout the world, seasons are still a definite.
Rather than kicking against the seasons of our lives, we can flow with them. Our choices make a difference in our seasonal experiences. Click To TweetWe would do well to learn what the farmer knows. Rather than kicking against the seasons of our lives, we can flow with them. Our choices make a difference in our seasonal experiences. We can learn a lesson from the farmer. The farmer can choose anxiously to worry away the seemingly non-productive winter, or he can confidently sharpen his hoe, order his seed, and tune up his combine for the upcoming growing season. So choose your season!
Our choices make a difference in our seasonal experiences. We can learn a lesson from the farmer. The farmer can choose anxiously to worry away the seemingly non-productive winter, or he can confidently sharpen his hoe, order his seed, and tune-up his combine for the growing season. The farmer knows.
(A version of this content originally appeared in Pentecostal Life. To see more content or subscribe, visit Pentecostal Life.