Verse of the day: Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, a time
for every purpose under heaven:
The longer we live, the more we should realize that
life is a cycle of events. As these event recycle into our lives, we have the
ability to make choices in response to what happens. Just like the seasons
change (weather-wise), so God has appointed certain seasons in our lives. There
is a season to experience the joy of a birth or the sorrow of the death (v.2).
These we have absolutely no control over. How we respond to them will depend on
how much we trust God and His promises. Other season will come into play as God
allows circumstances and situations to enter our lives. Whether we laugh or
cry, and for how long, will vary with the circumstance(s) and with how much we
are relying on the Lord. Whether we love, hate or forgive, break away from a
relationship, or mend one, will vary, based on the level of intimacy we have
with Jesus, and our willingness to obey God’s Word. Regardless of what season
of life we find ourselves in, God has told us what His desired response is, in
the pages of His Word (2 Tim 3:16-17). In every season, and with everything God
allows to come and go, He has a purpose. His greatest purpose is to mold us and
shape us into the people He wants us to be, for His glory, and our good; and He
reminds us of this when He tell us that He works all things together for our
good (Rm 8:28-29). In order for us to be more like Jesus in our response to
life, God must allow the various seasons to come and go in our lives. Each
season, regardless of how joyful or how painful, works together to shape our
attitude and response to God and others. Some seasons may linger longer; as
they work the areas of our lives that we refuse to allow God to make changes in.
Others seem to come around fiercer than the last time they came around. For us
who are born again believers, it is an opportunity to grow stronger and trust
God more. The bottom line is that in life we will experience many things; some
of these things will be received with joy, while others we will dread having to
endure. Although God is the One who is in control, and is the One who will
determine what events will come and go in our lives, it is up to us to choose
how we respond to them. With each season, we will have the opportunity to
choose joy, even when there seems to be no logically reason, humanly speaking,
to have joy. We can choose to have peace, even in the midst of the most
turbulent season (Phil 4:6-7). We can choose to give thanks and praise, when
others see no reason for it. We can love when others tell us that we should
hate, or when people do things to us that stir up a desire in us to respond
with hate. We can forgive when the world tells us that it is okay to seek
vengeance. The reality of life, as a born again Christian, and child of God, is
that regardless of what season we are in, there is One who walks with us, and
sees us, through that seasons of our lives. He never leaves us, He never
forsakes us, and He is our strength through each season He allows (Phil 4:13;
Heb 13:5-6). Regardless of what our favorite season may be in life, know that
each season is profitable in our walk with God; and the end of it all, if we
respond properly, is that we will grow in our faith, and grow in our intimacy
with our God.
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