The changing of the seasons are part of God’s grand design for His creation. God appoints such seasons for a reason and each have their purpose and their part to play in his great plan.
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease Genesis 8:22 (NASB) Such is God’s promise to us.
At the time of this writing, Spring has just begun. Flowers and trees are in bloom and green and growing things are appearing everywhere (along with the pollen they produce!). The mornings are cool but the afternoons are beginning to warm as we experience days with the most beautiful blue skies and the fluffiest white clouds.
Spring is like that. It makes itself evident and the signs are impossible to miss. Also impossible to miss is the drastic change from the Winter we just left to the Spring that is starting. The colors of the world change from the drab hues of browns and grays to the vibrancy of greens, yellows and brilliant blues along with the rise in temperatures and the lengthening of the daylight hours.
Springtime is drastically different from Wintertime but they are both seasons appointed by God and they each have their purpose under heaven. And so it is with us and the seasons of our lives and our spiritual growth.
Our Creator has ordained our days just as He has ordained the changing of the seasons. We are not given the ability to understand or see the reasons why but we are given the strength to trust in God and His plans despite our outward circumstances.
We can maintain the hope that God has put into our hearts as we continually decide to follow His ways and treasure His word. And if we ever come to the place where our hope has been diminished and our joy is lacking then we can have that hope renewed and our joy restored by simply calling on his name and deciding to trust him afresh and anew.
I am reminded of the words of one of my favorite hymns. There is a sweetness and such peace in trusting on Jesus. For the lost and the unsaved it is the beginning to a whole new life. For the Christian who has wandered and has put other things above their love for God or has succumbed to fear and doubt it is a refuge and renewed strength.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end.