Every season has a reason. By simply experiencing the beauty of each season, we can see the vast array of artwork God chose to use.

• The spring…He paints the rain and warm breezes as nature begins to come alive on the canvas.
• The summer…life is in full bloom with the lushness of the trees and the grass at its greenest.
• The fall…as the colors splash, God paints the reds, oranges, and yellows of autumn on the foliage.
• Then winter…when He restores the canvas to pure white with snow and prepares to begin the cycle again.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Just as nature has reasons for the seasons, so our spiritual life does too. However, our spiritual seasons don’t necessarily come in cycles, but more in separate acts all culminating towards an ultimate purpose. If you don’t understand what season you’re in, you’ll miss the reason for it. It’s only when we get out of the season that which we need to get out of the season that we’ll actually get out of the season. What I mean is that we need to get out of the season that which God wants to teach us through it. Remember, there is a reason for every season. There is something we need to extract from our experience that will give us what we need to move on to the next. In fact, I would argue that you’ll never move on to your next season until you get out what you need from the season you are currently in.

So how do we get out what we need in each season of life?

1) Stay Curious

Don’t allow your season to distract you from the lessons you need to learn. Don’t get so caught up in the moment that you miss the big picture. Curiosity keeps you leaning into the big picture. It keeps you hungry to learn what you need in order to move on. If you are blinded by bitterness, hurt, depression, fear, etc… they can easily block your God’s eye view of your situation. Keep asking the question, “Why am I here?” until you extract what God wants to show you.

 2) Stay Calm

Don’t get so emotionally charged by your challenges. The moment we allow our situation to dictate our focus is the moment we start riding the crazy train. We have to remain calm in our seasons, especially when we are in an unstable situation. We have to let the peace of God rule our heart. Literally, it has to rule it, not just make suggestions to it. It’s one thing to have problems, it’s a whole other thing for our problems to have us. Spend more time telling your challenges about how big your God is rather than telling God how big your challenges are.

3) Stay Committed

Don’t’ give up in your season. You never know how close you are to a change. In fact, you may be one moment away from a breakthrough. Some seasons last longer than anticipated, and longer than we would like. The secret to overcoming is to outlast your challenges. You may think you don’t have anything left to give, but know that you always do. There is always more you can draw on because you serve a limitless God. Continue to draw upon God’s strength and hope and don’t waver in your commitment to breaking through.

4) Stay Courageous

Don’t shrink away from your challenges, face them head-on. You can’t run from your fears, you have to run through them. Theologian Karl Barth said, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” It takes courage to keep pressing on when it’s hard to do. No one accomplishes anything of significance for God without the courage to step out and go. Fear can hold us back from experiencing all that God has designed for us. If we are going to live a life of significance, it requires us to live with courage. We must understand that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather it is the moving ahead in spite of fear. We can’t allow it to paralyze our progress.