ECCLESIASTES 3:1

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens

TO PONDER

What season or 'time' do you feel you are in at the moment? This verse seem like common sense. We know there are seasons for things; periods of time when we do some tasks and avoid others. My dad always seemed to know when it was the right time to go fishing. He was very picky about when he would take my brother and I out fishing in his boat. One day would bee too rough, the next too calm. Then the tides would be no good and the moon would be too full. However, having said that, we rarely went fishing with dad and came back completely empty handed.

Knowing the right time or the right season is important. Sometimes we can get frustrated with our lives or ourselves because nothing seems to be happening. But like a dormant tree in the winter, it's not dead, it's just preparing for the spring when it bursts to life and colour again. Sometimes our life of faith can feel like that. Sometimes we feel like growth or progress is hard to come by. But God uses even those seasons to prepare us for what he wants to do with us next.

So whatever season you are in, whether you are bursting full of new life or feeling overwhelmed and stuck, remember there are times and seasons for these things. Make the most of them, even the winter or difficult seasons because you never know what God might be preparing for the next season.

PRAYER

Lord of the Harvest, you know when the season is right to grow, to prune, to harvest. Help me to trust that whatever 'season' I might find myself in, I might know that you are with me nurturing and protecting me and preparing me for whatever comes next. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle