"To everything there is a season
and a time to every
purpose under Heaven."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
purpose under Heaven."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
My family & close friends know I can celebrate Christmas year round and I struggle to contain my enthusiasm at least until school starts in the Fall. My favorite season of the year. But what about the other seasons?
Each year the holiday season of November and December is filled with excitement .. special times with our friends and loved ones .. our attention focused on counting our blessings and remembering the "Reason For the Season" as we worship the King of Kings. We write out pages of New Year's resolutions with renewed determination to make this the year we lose weight, stop smoking, get a better job. Then, as the cold winter months give way to Spring, the earth begins to awaken and the cycle of life begins once more. This is the season when we turn our attention to the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior. Our spirits are lifted ... purpose and passion renewed. And before we know it ....
it's July.
It's hot. It's dry. Fields are turning brown under the unrelenting heat of the sun. Wild fires rage through sections of the world leaving in their wake heartache, death, destruction.
What season is this?
Too often, regardless of the date on the calendar, we can find our spirits languishing in a season of drought. Where are those "Showers of Blessing" we used to sing about? We sang about being a "tree planted by the water." Does it feel like the stream has dried up?
I've been in that place. There have been times when I felt like my spirit had turned to dust and was blowing away in the harsh winds of circumstance. I had no tears left ... no words ... no prayers left to pray. It was at that moment that I heard it ... that still, small voice.
"...the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)
A time of refreshing ... in the presence of the Lord. In His presence. Where is that place ... in His presence? I've learned that, as Christians, the presence of the Lord resides within us but so often we allow the pressures of life and circumstances to shut it off. Our spirit becomes dry and barren ... a wasteland. When this happens, I'm learning to calm myself ... breathe His name ... and instantly I'm in His presence.
And I am restored ... renewed ... refreshed.
The page on the calendar says July. This is the season to practice the presence of the Lord. The season to rest in the knowledge that His mercies and grace are sufficient and new every morning. The season to have our spirits refreshed, our strength renewed, and our joy restored.
In His presence, we can live our lives with purpose and joy!
