Submitted
by Sam Nobles
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season... (2
Timothy 4:2a ESV)
In
ministry and in service, you will inevitably go through various seasons...
· There is
the excitement of spring when you get new understandings from the Word and
fresh insights into the Lord. Things blossom and bud; new growth abounds.
· Spring
leads to the fruitfulness of summer, when you start to see ministry
opportunities open. The Lord uses your life and you say, ‘Wow! Fruit!’
· Then comes
fall when the Lord says, ‘There are some dead leaves that need to be knocked
off.’ The winds blow, trials come, and you wonder what’s going on.
· Fall is
followed by winter—long periods where you feel nothing and hear very little
from the Lord.
Early
in my walk, not understanding the necessity of seasons, I used to freak out
when winter came. ‘Oh, my,’ I thought, ‘I must be backsliding. I must be doing
something terrible because I don’t feel the Lord’s presence or hear His voice.’
In reality, however, it was in the wintertime that the Lord was giving me the
opportunity to walk by faith and not by feeling.
What
are we to do during the wintertime seasons in our lives? Worship. Praise. Sing.
Why? In the wintertime, we have the unique opportunity to worship the Lord
without immediately receiving more than we give. I pray we would all learn to
walk in this type of spiritual maturity.
Scripture to Claim:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter
under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV)
