Embracing the Seasons of Life with Purpose

Just like we change our wardrobe with the season, we have to make adjustments in life according to the season of life that we’re in.

Sometimes we fight against the season that God has us in. We try to avoid the things He wants us to experience instead of growing and learning from them. If you want to make today count as a leader, it’s important to know what season of life you’re in because when you start to understand it and accept it, you’ll be able to respond to it in a more faithful way.

In Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, Solomon talks about how God works in times and seasons. Today I want to help answer the question, “What are we to do with the season that we are in today?”

 Read Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."

 There’s a time and season for everything that happens in life.

• A season has a fixed time and a predetermined purpose.
• Fixed time means it won’t last forever, eventually it’s going to end.
• Predetermined purpose means it’s not by accident. God wants to use this time for a purpose.
• We can trust that He’s doing something good even when we don’t understand it.
• God is sovereign. Nothing happens outside of His will, and it always happens at just the right time. 

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

You might be in a Season of Harvest: “a time to plant and a time to  pluck up.”

• The Planting - God is tilling the soil of your heart and planting things in you. You are learning, growing, struggling, grinding.
• This is typically a hard season to be in.
• The Waiting - You are watering and caring for the seeds that have been planted in your life and waiting on the Lord to show you what’s next.
• The Fruit - It’s time to celebrate. You’ve been through hard times but now you are reaping the benefits and fruit of the planting and waiting. You’re collecting the blessings. This is the season we want to be in.

You might be in a Season of New Beginnings or Endings: “a time to  break down, build up, seek, lose, cast away, gather, embrace, refrain from embracing.”

• Any time there’s a new beginning, you’re usually letting go of something in your past.
• This can be sad but it’s a natural part of life.
• God will use it to mature you and grow you.
• Embrace it as God’s purpose for your life. Don’t fight against it but serve and worship God in the midst of it.

You might be in a Season of Conflict or Healing: “a time to kill, heal, break down, build up, be silent, speak, love, hate, war, and peace.”

• God uses healthy conflict to bring peace, love, and healing.
• Embrace it with purpose. Make sure you’re doing your part and wait for the healing.

 You might be in a Season of Life or Loss: “a time to be born, die, mourn, dance, weep, and laugh.”

• New life causes us to rejoice, laugh and dance.
• Maybe you’ve lost a loved one and are hurting.
• God has you in this season for a reason. Embrace it with purpose. 
• Be faithful. He will bring you through it.

Read Ecclesiastes 3:9  

We will go through different seasons, but what are we to do with the season we’re in?

• In verses 2-8, Solomon focuses on our life. There’s no mention of God.
• But in verses 9-15, Solomon’s focus changes to what God does with the time in our life. 

God makes everything beautiful in His timing. (v11a)

• You might feel like a failure, or that your life is a mess.
• When you’re faithful to apologize and forgive, God can make ugly relationships beautiful in every area of your life. 

God put eternity in man’s heart, yet so he cannot find out what God has done from beginning to end. (v11b)

• We want to live forever. We think about eternity and the afterlife.
• We desire knowledge about what’s going to happen next, but we’ll never fully understand it.

Bottom line: If you want to make today count, embrace each season with purpose. Trust in God’s timing and find joy and fulfillment in worshipping Him and living for Him today. Get in the habit of saying, “I don’t know the Lord’s timing, but I know He’ll be on time.”