Beauty and the Season

Job 11:7-12

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ “If he comes along and confines you in prison
    and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
¹¹ Surely he recognizes deceivers;
    and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
¹² But the witless can no more become wise
    than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.

 

 

Over the last few weeks I have been listening to a sermon series by Pastor Steven Furtic at Elevation Church in North Carolina called “Times and Seasons”. This series has struck a chord with me because it’s about wanting to “fast forward” through the hard or not so fun times in life, and Pastor Steven kind of blasts a hole in that way of thinking.

 

Everybody has hard times in their lives. Every mother has been pooped on. Every wife has had a disagreement with her husband. The person you look at and idolize has hard times in her life. You aren’t going to get rid of them. The point of life isn’t to see how quickly you can get through a crappy situation. It isn’t even to just survive through it. Every obstacle is an opportunity to excel. Before you start rolling your eyes at me because “I have no idea what you are going through”, pause for a moment. Take a step back from your difficult life and look at it. What could God possibly be trying to instill in you through this hard time? Is it faith in His provision? Is He teaching you contentment in His love above all others? Is He trying to get you to examine your heart motives? Patience? Perseverance? A combination of all of these or something completely different? Maybe he wants you to come to the end of yourself so you will remember him and draw near to him. Point being; stop trying to ignore the season you are in. If you pretend it isn’t there…it’s still there, you’re just not learning what you should be learning. It’s hard being a mom of a toddler, but if you just grit your teeth to get through it you’ll be missing out on all the amazing things they are learning how to do. Truth be told, every stage your children will go through will be hard and if all you’re trying to do is survive it, you’ll miss it. Same is true for marriage. The season you are in might be really hard, but unless you are willing to learn and grow, it will never get to “The Notebook” place that you want it to. Gold is refined through fire and the hotter the fire the more pure the gold. If your “fire” is really hot right now, congratulations! God is making you really shiny! J  

 

No matter what season you are in, God has a purpose for it and there is beauty to be enjoyed in it.