A Never-Ending Season

“This too shall pass,” they say. But there are tough times in our lives that seem to never go away. We feel like we are on a hamster wheel. We’ve lingered in this season of our lives forever. Enough is enough. Why are we still in this pandemic? Why must the devastation from Hurricane Ida stay all around us? Sometimes our pain lingers in a particular season of our lives. Maybe you still have a cancer diagnosis, or you are working through the death of a family member. Maybe you care about someone with an addiction, and you’ve done everything you can to help. Maybe you are struggling in an endless cycle of the same sin. You may feel overwhelmed and worried for our world today. Maybe life isn’t going as you planned. The fact is, there are just things in life that are hard to accept. Why is it so tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

We know that times in life are difficult, but we are told God is with us. So, we wait, and we hang on for the season to pass. A lot of times we don’t want to. Sometimes, we wait with frustration. “Lord, I have done what you’ve asked of me, now please grant me this wish,” as if he’s a genie. So the question is, what is He asking of you right now, in this season? What should you do, what can you do, while waiting for the season to pass?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Here’s what we know. God is all-knowing. He knew you’d be right here, right now. He knew you’d be feeling this struggle. He knew you’d have this pain. He is permitting it under His will, for possibly reasons that you or I could never imagine. He may be protecting us from worse. But still, it’s still hard to trust. What we must do first is stay in the present moment. Realize that you can’t change the past—ask for His help not to dwell on it— and place the future in God’s hands; it is His. He is in control. No matter our circumstance, our journey is toward Heaven. He walks with us. And I remind myself often that the closest moment to Heaven is the present moment.

“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the wilderness I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

We know that the joys and pains of life ebb and flow. None of us are exempt from these experiences. And though the seasons of our lives change, His love always remains. We still praise Him. We keep surrendering. We keep laying it in His holy Hands. Ask what He is revealing to you through this. Think about what gifts He wants to give you. Lean into His grace. Maybe He is shaking up the soil and bringing things to the surface. Maybe He wants to awaken our souls from winter slumber. Maybe this is our chance to grow. So, sit and stay in that fertile soil. Plant your roots in what is eternal. Be open. Let the rainfall come. Change can be intimidating, but we know that somehow He works all things for good. You see, our suffering here on this Earth is very powerful, it has a purpose, and it makes an impact on those around us. We might not understand WHAT He is doing, but we must remember that we know WHO He is. And He is faithful.

“The temporary, light burden of our hardships is earning us forever an utterly incomparable eternal weight of glory, since what we aim for is not visible but invisible. Visible things are transitory, but invisible things eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

God’s nature is our very proof of His work within us. Through joy or through pain, I still see Him in every season. I see Him in the new life and fresh beginning of Spring. I see Him in the drops of warm summer sun, and hear Him in the birds chirping. I see Him in the crisp air of Fall when we brace for change, as the leaves do. And I still see Him in the winter frost when nothing is blooming, when He is still and quiet, when it feels like the cold will never end. In those moments, the devil wants you to despair and lose hope. But, consider that the longer the winter, the richer the harvest. It seems to me that God moves slow sometimes to develop a more bountiful result. I believe God takes his time. Think about it. He didn’t send us a Savior to redeem us in a split second. No, He sent a child. A child that would take time to grow, and a love that would develop and endure until it was time. Our salvation TOOK TIME. And it took suffering. Did you ever stop to think why God made it that way?

So let’s think again about your season of waiting. God has planted a seed for you of His promise. So stay rooted in His peace. Stay grounded in truth and prayer. Wait for the harvest. And just let Him love you.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)

It is inevitable that the seasons will change. You won’t be in this season forever. And with each change, God re-creates us, just as he does with nature. Focus on the new life that will come. Ask God for strength to move forward. God is always working, and in that case, I’m not done waiting. In fact, I’m okay with it. My promise has been planted. And I believe that my season will come.