Seasons

We all have a favorite season.  It could be fall because of the beautiful leaves, or spring with it's fantastic array of wild flowers, maybe winter that gives you a reason to snuggle up with a hot chocolate, it could even be summer that brings swimming and long days.  When the seasons change we never question it or try to keep them from happening.  We respond to the change and keep going. 

Just as there are seasons with the weather we can also expect that we will have seasons in our lives.  The difference is that personal seasons affect us on a deep and intimate level.  Some seasons are full of happiness and joy.  Others can bring loss and helplessness.  If we do not respond rightly to the seasons that pass through our lives, we can even perpetuate negative season.  The one thing about seasons is that they will always pass, the question is who do we hold on to in the midst of those tough times? 

Joseph of the Bible went through many seasons in his life before he arose to second in command to Pharaoh.  He started in a season of blessing when the Lord gave him the vision of his eventual future.  After his brothers threw him in the well, he had bad season after bad season.  He was betrayed, lied about, and imprisoned.  Through it all Joseph praised the Lord and continued to work hard and be diligent in the work he had before him.  He never forgot the word of the Lord, which carried him through the tough times (Genesis 37-41).

The hardest thing to do in our lives is to go through a tough season and see the good and see God.  God is our compass through the storm and our anchor in the sea.  There are times when the Lord is not going to lift you out of the bad season immediately, but teach you something in the midst of it.  We must rely on the Lord and give Him all the praise.  Our faith is tried and tested through hard seasons, but is made strong in the Lord because of it. 

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" 
James 1:2-4.