In and Out of Season

I love subscribing to magazines. In fact, I subscribe to so many I don’t have the time to read them all and I end up playing catch up. Currently I am reading the Christmas issue of my Christian women’s magazine.

It got me thinking about seasons in my own life and what happens when things get out of season. God says there is a season for everything, ‘For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1). God has a plan for each of our lives and, within that plan, He has ordained when events will take place.

One of the reasons for this is to keep us safe, just as waiting for the ‘green man’ light before we cross the road is meant to keep us safe. Crossing the road is a good thing to do, but if we cross at the wrong time it could prove dangerous.

The same could be said about doing things outside God’s timing. A gift from God, opened too soon, could prove problematic. Like the prodigal son, we may not have reached the maturity to steward that gift wisely, and we could end up squandering what God has given us.

So, what can we do to prevent this happening? I think we need to look at what motivates us to grab at something when we see it, rather than wait. Is it insecurity, impatience, or a fear of missing out? Whatever it is, we need to work on cultivating the opposite, for insecurity, a security in God, for impatience, the knowledge that God knows our deepest desires.

Whatever it is, we need to know that we can ‘let go and let God’. Just as we watch for the ‘green man’ before crossing the road, we need to focus our energy on watching God for the green light that says the time is right to pursue that desire or project He has put on our heart. God knows when the time is right.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help us to cultivate a deep relationship with You, a relationship of trust and peace. Help us to know that there is safety and love in Your plan for us and that Your timing is perfect. Let your time scale be the one we look to follow. Amen.