Church bulletin:
Autumn officially commences on March 1. Because there are still plenty of sweltering days I think of March as summer. For me, the beginning of April is the beginning of Autumn. That is when the weather starts to change. The end of daylight savings is the welcome sign. I enjoy a swim at the beach, but 5 – 6 months of hot weather is just not my thing. The cooler months are great and I even like mid-winter. Drizzling rain, overcast skies, chilly winds are no less the blessing of God than warm, balmy days. My children have grown up and I miss Saturday sport terribly. There’s nothing like watching soccer on a cold, frosty July morning.
The monthly seasons remind us of the seasons which come in personal ways. Some seasons are pleasant, others difficult, the majority are a mixture of both. A few thoughts.
God has a purpose in all seasons. No doubt we have our preferred months in the year. I am probably the odd one out in that I like July more than January. God has a purpose in all four seasons because our planet needs all four. We need all four. So it is in our personal lives. Ecc 3:1-8, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven………..” There are seasons when God brings refreshing and seasons when God brings discipline. Seasons of activity and seasons of stillness. Seasons to give and seasons to receive. Seasons when we cry with joy and seasons when we cry in pain. We need them all. We need the green pastures, and we need the valley of the shadow of death. Life is a mixture of highs and lows; hot days, cold days and in between days. Too much of one thing leads to imbalance and so “change is here to stay” (Solomon noted this before Heraclitus!). Through it all God works out His purposes in our lives, in the church and in the world.
Seasons change but God doesn’t. God is with us throughout the changes we experience. We ourselves change and our circumstances change, but God does not change. This brings assurance, peace and hope as we rest in His immutable character. Heb 13:8 is the first verse that really meant something to me. As a young man I was wrestling with spiritual ideas; I was wrestling with an ever-changing, unpredictable, unstable world and my place in it. These words came to me in a church service, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” it was as though God took me up in the everlasting arms. I felt at peace. I felt secure. God is not like the world. He doesn’t change. The offer of salvation is not like anything the world can offer. In Christ we have the certainty of God’s love, His forgiveness and restoration, an inheritance which can never be taken away. These realities are unaffected by the changes which continually beset us.
We must adapt to change. In April the beach towels go to the back of the cupboard as the jumpers, beanies and Ugg boots are brought out. We change our attire, our bedding, our eating, our heating and cooling. In similar fashion, we must accept that life changes and we need to adapt accordingly. Not everything can be or should be done as it always was. Some things are permanent, and others change – not all change is for the worst. It can be quite right to “move with the times” and quite wrong not to. And so, we need discernment when change is afoot. We need to know our strengths and limitations according to where we are in life. What we were doing a few years ago we may not be able to do today, conversely, what we were unable to do in the past we may be free to do in the present. We need wisdom to navigate the various seasons we find ourselves in – how can we best serve the Lord, what opportunities do we have, how might we use this particular time to advantage. This has application on both a corporate and individual level.
Let us embrace the seasons and changes of life as God’s purposed providence. We may not always like where we are, yet we can take heart that God is with us, He is working in our lives, He is building His church, and He has a glorious end in view.