Autumn is a spectacular time when God paints the leaves in vibrant red, bright yellow, and vivid orange. It is my favorite season. I love how the crisp, cool breeze blows through the trees, cascading the leaves into a colorful carpet that crunches beneath my feet. The summer heat surrenders its hold on the temperature and allows us to throw open the windows and doors to invite the coolness in. Bright mums and pansies dot the landscape in the neighborhood. And who can forget the smell of pumpkin spice everywhere?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV): “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
The changing seasons, including fall, serve as a reminder of the transient nature of life and the constancy of God’s promises during each season. From the birth of new leaves in spring to their falling to the ground in winter’s death, each stage reflects life with Christ. This year, as the leaves change and fall, consider what God might ask us to release. Do we need to drop our hold on control, worry, old hurts, or expectations?
Holding on Too Long
One year we got an early ice storm. It occurred in early October, while the trees still held onto their leaves. Before long, the ice coated the leaves, branches, and trunks of the trees. All the added weight from the ice-coated leaves caused the branches to bend low. We heard creaking and snapping from our living room throughout the ice storm. Many trees fell and died. If the same storm happened later in the year, when the limbs hung bare, we would see different results.
Like those ice-covered branches, we sometimes hold on to things long after God has called us to release them. Worry, fear, resentment, and our need for control can become burdens that threaten to break us. He tells us to turn them over to him in faith and prayer. God knows the additional weight of the worry will bend us to a breaking point. When we look to the world for help, it adds to our problems, but God reminds us that the burdens he wants us to carry are light when we trust him with them. What is he calling you to release to him today?
Matthew 11:30 (NIV): “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Wait for the Right Season
Fall is my favorite season, as I mentioned before, but I enjoy planting spring flowers and watching them grow. Sometimes, in my excitement, I forget to check the weather and end up planting before the last frost of the season. It can be a costly mistake because we need to buy more plants to replace the ones the frost killed.
Our faith teaches us to learn to wait on the Lord and do things in his timing. We can rush ahead of God in our excitement to do something for the kingdom. The success or failure of our plans depends on the Lord and his timing. When we rush ahead of God’s timing, we may create unnecessary difficulties or miss what He is teaching us in the waiting. His grace remains, even when our impatience gets the better of us. What thing does God want you to wait to complete in a different season?
Psalm 27:14 (NIV): “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Rest in the Off-season
Football is another reason I love the fall. Each Saturday we want to cheer on our college team to its next victory. The football off-season feels like an eternity as we wait for September to roll around each year. Then, in the blink of an eye, the bowl games and National Championship games are over and we wait for the next season. Even the strongest athletes cannot perform at their best without rest and recovery. Yet how often do we expect ourselves to keep going without stopping? We fill our calendars, volunteer for another responsibility, and convince ourselves that slowing down means we’re not doing enough for God.
God created time for us to rest between seasons of work for the kingdom. Jesus took time away from his ministry on earth to rest and pray before embarking on the next adventure. He expects nothing different for us; he knows we need to rest. God always knows the challenges ahead, so wants us to use time to train and prepare for the battle ahead. Is God calling you to a season of rest?
Genesis 2:2 (NIV): “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
God’s Seasons
God has a purpose for each season we go through in life. The trees don’t fight the changing seasons. They release their leaves, rest through winter, and wait for spring. Perhaps I can learn something from them. God isn’t asking me to understand every season of my life. He’s asking me to trust Him through each one. We cannot work ahead of Christ or fall behind him. When God tells us to move, we must move, as we trust his timing for everything. And at the right time, we will reap a harvest for the kingdom.
What season are you walking through today, and what might God be teaching you in it?
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father. I am in a season of change, and I surrender the uncertainty of this moment to you. When my mind feels overwhelmed and anxious about what lies ahead, please anchor me in your peace that surpasses all understanding.
Grant me the courage to step forward when the path is unclear, the wisdom to let go of what I cannot control, and the strength to embrace the new things you are doing. Even when my surroundings shift, remind me you never change, and your steadfast love remains my firm foundation.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
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Grace and Peace to you,
Yvonne M. Morgan is a Christian #author, #blogger, and #speaker. #BibleGatewayPartner
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
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Great lessons. I especially like the one on releasing the stuff we need to. I can apply that to my storage area!
Thanks Debbie. God doesn’t waste any lessons. Blessings
I may not always understand God’s timing, but I’m thankful His timing is always best. Have a blessed day! 🙂
Me too. I can usually see the purpose better as I look back over my life. Thanks Melissa. Praying for you both. God bless
Beautiful, Yvonne. We nearly lost a Japanese Maple tree one year because of an Easter frost. I’ve learned when I run ahead of God or hold onto things He wants to carry for me, I reach my breaking point eventually and things don’t go as well as if I had waited on the Lord. God bless.
Those are hard lessons for me to learn. I get excited and want to run ahead of God. Something I’ll be learning about for the rest of my life. Blessings and thanks Karen
It has taken me a long time to accept new seasons with courage…and I’m still working on it. He Is. And because He Is, I can face tomorrow. Thank you!
Amen Jennifer. I’m working on it too. Blessings
I’ve been in a season where I’ve been very stressed out with a bunch of competing work projects, all of which are supposed to be done “now” and all of which seem important, particularly because they are all faith-oriented. I’ve come to accept they cannot be done now, that I am simply one imperfect human, and I can just do my best and trust God will enable things to happen in the time that is appropriate… especially as they are projects dedicated to him!! Sometimes it’s hard because the pressure feels so heavy. But I must accept the truth.
Praying for you Jessica. May God give you the grace needed to complete the things He needs finished. It can be difficult. Blessings