It’s Seasonal
The other day when we arrived at our local grocery store, the parking lot was almost full and I was taken a aback for a minute because I haven’t seen it that full in a while. Then it dawned on me that it was Super Bowl Sunday. Then I remembered that just a handful of months ago the parking lot looked liked this everyday and in just a handful of months it will be full like this everyday again. If you live in Mayville, you’ll know what that’s like. We are a very seasonal town with a much larger population in the summer months. And in summer, I’m never fazed by the busy grocery store, because I’m expecting it.
Remember Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” The Word promises us seasons and it’s our job to be ready for whatever season it is. Naturally speaking, we’re pretty good at this. We get used to just taking care of things and dealing with things in their season. Christians need to get better at handling spiritual seasons as well. Summer time at Tops is just one of those things we get used to. But we also know we get to enjoy the warm weather and the gorgeous lake! It’s winter time now and we’re used to shoveling, plowing, and bundling up. What good would it do for us to complain about that? What if we refused to get out our fans and air conditioners and kept our heat on all summer long because we refused to switch gears? What if we said, “I don’t like snow so I’m not going to come out of my bedroom for the next five months. I’ll show you old man winter!” Well instead winter “showed” you!
Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” We can expect seasons and all that come with them! If we look at life with this perspective, we’ll be more prepared when each new season comes our way. Look at Ecclesiastes 3:2, “A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;” Some seasons are for planting and some are for harvesting. We need to know what season it is so we’re not surprised by what season we’re in!
How do we do this? How do we know if we’re in a time to plant? Well, a farmer always sows in order to reap a harvest later on. If we’ve been living in what seems like perpetual lack, what we should be doing is sowing. But, how do I sow when I don’t have? I’m glad you asked. Mark 12:41-44, “…And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Jesus is still looking for those who will be faithful in the least! Notice this woman with the two mites understood that the kingdom of God was the place to sow that seed. She didn’t only sow to get something, but she sowed in faith with her heart connected to the kingdom! She prepared for harvest season in the time where she needed harvest.
Look at the account of Joseph in Genesis 41:47-49, “Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.” In a time of harvest, Joseph gathered and stored as to have when the harvest season ended. We need to get better at preparing for the seasons ahead! Now, did Joseph hold back from the kingdom with this abundance? Certainly not! Being thoughtful and preparing right during the harvest season allows us never to have to go without and allows for the kingdom never to lack!
We know how to recognize when we’re in harvest season or a season of planting naturally speaking, let’s learn to recognize what season we’re in spiritually speaking and endeavor to be fruitful in all seasons! Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée
