Some years ago, I was travelling with someone during the winter. Our trip started in sunny Southern California, then continued on to windy and snowy Illinois. Unfortunately, my travelling partner was so excited about going to California that he forgot to pack for the winter weather in Illinois. I was humored when he was trying to hike over a snow bank with freezing feet because the only shoes he packed were flip-flops.
This is the law of seasons. The same God who made the natural world with seasons has also woven seasons into our life. When we do not pay attention to and honor the season, we end up making life more painful and difficult than it should be. This is what Proverbs 20:4 means: “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.”
God wants your life, year after year starting this year, to be like a healthy tree that honors the seasons and flourishes. This is what Psalm 1:1–3 means:
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
As we honor the seasons of life and dig our roots into healthy circumstances and relationships, our life becomes fruitful year after year.
When we fail to recognize that our entire life, and each year of our life, has seasons, we become confused and frustrated. Something that used to work, no longer works. What used to deliver positive results, no longer does. In this way, the flip-flops that were perfect for the summer become a problem in the winter.
How do you know when the season of your life is changing? Transition. When a major life transition comes, you are leaving one season and entering into another season of life. Consider your life. Have you recently experienced any of these seasonal transitions?
- Divorce
- Death of a Spouse
- Death of Parent or Child
- Relocation
- Job/Career Change
- Bankruptcy
- Major Job Loss
- Illness (Personal or a Close Family Member)
- Empty Nest
If any of these transitions, or others like them, are part of your life, you need a plan for the next season of life, which we will consider in the next devotional entry.
At MarkDriscoll.org there is a special four-part series this month called Four Biblical Laws That Change Your Life, available for a gift of any amount. This brand-new content is a series of lectures and accompanying homework by Pastor Mark Driscoll to help you make this a godly and great year, by God’s grace.