How to Identify God’s Seasons
[Text Version]
HE SPEAKS IN SEASONS IN OUR LIVES
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJ) “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season..” (Psalm 145:15 NKJV) “…a word spoken in due season, how good is it! (Proverbs 15:23 KJ) “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9 KJ)
To understand God’s time table, is to understand His calendar. Few, if any, know that! We need to understand that He carries out His plans in seasons. We are synchronized with His timing whether we know it or not. When trying to understand what is going on, it helps to plug into the knowledge of what season it is.
Find common denominators and patterns in how your life fits in with those around you. In my own life and in the life of those around me, I have witnessed seasons of slumber, resurrection, promotion, repentance, cleansing, praying, worship, sifting, wavering, vision, promise, movement, warfare, standing, waiting, retraining habits, weakness, faith, expectation, etc.
That list and many others are like months within a year. They don’t have the same time frame as our months, but they are equivalent to durations of time within a larger clock.
HOW TO IDENTITY SEASONS IN OUR LIVES
His larger clock works within seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. I stood through a very long season He specifically called “winter.” That winter lasted 3½ years. I was very happy to see it end. (Believe me, winter does end, and spring does come.)
Spring is a season when God gives us new beginnings, fresh starts, new boundaries to grow in to, promotions, birthing new ministries, babies, jobs and assignments. It is a time of fresh, catapulted faith to launch into the unknown. It is a time of seeing the first small beginnings of what God spoke in our winter tombs. It is resurrection power of hope, courage, and rekindled passion.
Summer is a time when we are growing in the assignments He has given us. It is a time of experiencing visual fruit, gifts, movement and productivity. It is a fulfilling time where we are fully launched in passion and carrying out the plans God has spoken to us. Summer is a time of labor and delivery.
Fall is a time of bringing things into completion. We harvest and conclude what we have been building. We organize it and settle it, and either store it for later or give it away. Just like the parable of the tares and the wheat, fall is a time of release and letting go as we prepare for winter. Fall is the beginning of death to self where God is tearing down structures in our lives instead of building them up.
Winter
is a time of death to self, where we wait upon God to bring new life and hope. It is usually a colder time with isolation, separation and little outward or visible activity in God. In the darkness of one’s tomb, in the dark night of the soul, this is where we draw near to God by putting our roots down deep in Him. We cling in desperate times and He is there to reassure us and speak Words of hopeful promise of what is to come.
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These 4 seasons can be quickly rotating and ongoing in our lives. However God is drawing His corporate body together more and more. As God’s people become more aligned and in synch with Him, the greater the unity of movement on a corporate level. In such a case, the seasons in our lives slow down so that we can join His overall movement on the larger scale. The seasons of our own independence are slowing as we fit into His overall plan of moving a mass of people through spring, summer, fall and winter. It is a much slower change from one season to the next and each season can last years.
