What Will I Do In This New Season?

September 1st begins Autumn if you go by the meteorological definition of seasons based on temperature cycles. If you prefer the astronomical seasons based on the equinoxes and solstices, then Autumn will not begin until September 22nd.

With the scientific information clarified, I am not writing about the seasons of the year but rather about the seasons of our lives. In the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes, the writer covers multiple seasons or times of a persons life in chapter 3. My focus is on the introductory verse of that chapter.

"For everything there is a season, and a time

for every matter under heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

For individuals who live a life expectancy of 80 years, most will follow a similar seasonal pattern in their lives. They will experience childhood, educational years, young adult and starting a career, having a family, growing in their vocation, and retirement. Events, positive and negative, will vary from person to person, but one thing is consistent for everyone - all of life is being lived under the banner of heaven. Beginning with conception, we are all created in the image of God. He knows who we are and He has a plan for our lives. The question we must all answer is will we choose to follow that plan and live our life spans in relationship to our creator.

While I cannot outline your journey in this life, I can highlight some of the things that I have observed in my life as the seasons have changed.

• New do's and don'ts were learned in each season. The value of obedience over disobedience was duly noted in each successive season. Most of these were applied through trial and error.

• Opportunities in one season might not be present in the next season, but new ones usually appeared. The question was whether I was willing to make changes that were required to engage the new opportunities.

• Finally, with aging and retirement, there is the difficulty of being reminded of true worth apart from employment.

You may ask "is nothing consistent through all these seasons?" The answer is an overwhelming YES. The one enduring consistency in every season of life is in a living faith in God through Jesus Christ. No matter our age or position at a given season of life, He gives us opportunity and guidance in living the life He desires for us. No, I cannot do all the things that I could at age twenty-five. However, there are opportunities that the Lord can put before us that we could either not see or were unwilling to do at twenty-five that are needed ministry opportunities in our seventies, eighties, and nineties.

Remember a man named Moses in the Old Testament. The first forty years of his life were spent in Egypt living as a prince and becoming familiar with the protocols of that land. The next forty years he spent in the Wilderness of Midian caring for his father-in-law's flocks and learning the rough terrain. At the age of eighty, God spoke to him through a burning bush and called him back to Egypt to lead the Hebrews out of slavery to a new land.

The Biblical account of Moses is a reminder to me that in every season of life, God has a plan to develop us and use us if we are willing to pay attention and obey in faith. There is an old hymn that contains the words "Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me." Whether starting a new season or in the middle of a present season, what is God trying to show you, and how does He want to use you in that season?

This week, I pray that my eyes will be open to what God wants to do in my life. I also pray that you will open your eyes to what He has before you in this season of your life.