Devotionals

There's A Time For Everything

There is a time for everything in life. Remember that your life is held by the Creator of the universe. He holds your life in a perfect timeline.

Each season your in holds a divine purpose. There are times which will feel like blessings left and right. Then there are seasons that are filled with questions, trial after trial and feel like no end.

Despite all this, we can firmly trust that God knows what His doing. Each season is temporary and life can feel like a wave. It has highs and lows but as Christians, we don't need to depend on these highs and lows to know that God is always God.

Ecclesiastes 3

3 To everything, there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

I want you to learn that God works in times and seasons. There are set times for everything. In life, we learn how there is a time when we are kids and a time when we are adults. A time when we are single and a time when we are married. A time when we live with our parents and depend on them and a time when we are independent and care for ourselves.

There is more to this. There are times when God refines you to prepare you for the next season of life. There are times when you'll be in the promised land and you'll be in season where you get to enjoy the promises spoken over you. There are times you'll go through trial after trial. There are times when you sow and there are times when you reap the harvest.

I want us to understand that God uses all these seasons to work for our good and His purpose (Romans 8:28) no season is wasteful and without a purpose but each season is meant to teach, refine, grow and prepare us.

I challenge you to go before God in prayer. I want you to ask the Father what is the season you're in. What is the purpose of this season?

I want you to reflect on the season you're in and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what kind of season you're in, the purpose of the season, what He wants you to learn etc

Our lives are locked up in times and seasons. Jesus was constantly aware of times and seasons. When His mother asked Him for help, Jesus told her that His time has not come (John 2:4) . I love that response of Jesus because He was someone who was always sensitive to doing only what the Lord wanted Him to do in particular times and seasons. 

Jesus was aware of every season. He even reveals to us how to do the will of the Father is His food (John 4:34) and how He only does what the Father reveals (John 5:19).

Jesus lived a life of prayer. Constantly asking for the Father's will and direction. He did what God revealed to Him about every season.

The Pharisees weren't able to get hold of Jesus because His hour did not yet come (John 8:20).

Jesus was always aware of what God wanted Him to do. His time of ministry and time of death. When God wanted Him to go somewhere and when God didn't. He was always led by the Holy Spirit even if it looked like being led to the wilderness (Matthew 4:1).

I want you to desire to be led by the Spirit. We are called to be like Jesus and we are now His followers. Jesus lived a life of prayer and one of His prayer requests was always for the Father's will and direction.

Like Jesus, God can reveal to you if you're in a wilderness season (represents a season of being tested, growing in dependency on God, often faced with trials and hardship etc) or a season of blessings. God can reveal to you if you're in a season of sowing or a season where you're now reaping the harvest of your prayers, sacrifices, commitment, perseverance and good deeds. God can reveal to you if you're in a season to work hard or a season of rest. If you're in a season of celebration to a season of mourning, whether mourning physical loss or mourning something that you needed to let go of. If you're in a season of change and being refined. When God is revealing what needs to change so you can grow to be He had called for you.

But the beauty of times and seasons is that we have the Holy Spirit, inside of us which gives us revelation and insight into the different times and seasons of our lives. Like Jesus, the Spirit will lead you to seasons. Our Lord guides us, instructs and teaches us in different seasons of our lives. 

1) Desire to be led by the Spirit

Jesus was always led by the Spirit. Everything He did was what God wanted Him to do. He didn't follow His flesh no matter how difficult it could have been but remain walking in the Spirit.

2) Desire to discern times and seasons of your life

Jesus prayed. Prayer is your dependency on God and you humbling yourself to acknowledge you don't know everything. Like Jesus, you need to desire to know what God wants you to do today. What does God want you to do in this season?

You need to desire to develop the characteristics and fruits God wants you to bear. You need to desire to learn everything God wants you to learn. You need to desire to receive God's instruction and direction for this new season. You need to go to the secret place and ask God "Lord, what is this season? What do you want me to do? What does this season mean? What is something I need to be aware of?"

Times and seasons belong to God and He is ready and available to give us insight and revelation of what we need to know. God is there to reveal to us what He has already established and planned in heaven.

3) Pray consistently and with perseverance

You need to pray with consistency and perseverance. It's very impatient to go in prayer, ask God these questions and get upset thinking God doesn't want to speak to you. We are called to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:7) and to keep knocking, keep asking and keep seeking (John 10:7). When you seek with all your heart you'll receive because it's God's will and desire to direct and reveal things to us what to do in each season of our lives. The issue is that normally our desire to know is very weak and our perseverance is very low.

God could reveal to you what He wants you to do in 1 day, in 2 weeks, in 1 month or even a year but you should keep asking and keeping seeking because we should trust that when we cry out to God, He is there and listens and by the power of His Spirit in us, we will receive the revelation we desire.

If you struggle with perseverance, I suggest this reading Luke 18:1-8.

-etty