Start to see what the season you're in may hold and learn why we need a grateful heart even amidst battle.
Psalm 85:11 beautifully states that 'faithfulness springs forth from the earth'. The particular language used here shows us that the Lord made every part of nature to remain faithful to its season, its boundaries and purpose. This may teach us more about life than we think.
Every year, unfailingly, plants bloom in the spring and die in the winter. The birds travel south with the sun and follow it back again. We should be the same -- remain faithful to the season of life we are in just as nature is. In the winter, we should wilfully allow the old things to die in order to be refreshed and reborn in the spring. Whereas in the summer, we should take time to appreciate the harvest we received and live in gratitude.
Stay strong and stay close to the Lord even in the hardest moment of that season, for after all, it is but a moment.
Winters may be tough -- and spiritually speaking winters can come more than once a year -- but our behaviour and reaction matters every time the cold wind rushes in with negative thoughts of doubt or worry. Every time a blizzard comes full of anxiety and frustration it can bring nothing but hopelessness and the temptation to leave your faith behind and run into the so-called warmth with the rest of the world. But remain strong and stay close to the Lord even in the hardest moment of that season, for after all, it is but a moment.
Psalm 139 talks of how the Lord is with us wherever we go. Verse 7 asks, “Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” If it is impossible to hide from the Lord or flee where He cannot see or find us, then that shows us just how present He is in whatever season we may be in. Remembering this not only gives us great amounts of comfort that we are never alone, but also that the Lord helps us through it: and so everything will eventually come to an end.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 literally states that "for everything there is a season". It is a direct statement from the Bible of how life is split into seasons. Everything under the sun has its own individual season; whether more delicate, precise, more violent or impulsive. And just like anything on this earth, it will always end in order to make space for the new season.
Every season in your life is there to propel you forward to the next one.
Can you see how much significance each season has in its details, in the way it presents itself, in how unique it is from the other? Yet one cannot be without the other. Spring cannot come without winter, and summer cannot come without spring. Just like that, remember that every season in your life is there to propel you forward to the next one. Not only that, but to also help you appreciate the new one so much more: to value the summer heat when you just finished with the winter cold, or appreciate the spring harvest when the autumn lasted so long.
From now on, look at every season in your life with a new pair of glasses. Watch the beauty in each one and learn to appreciate how it's moulding and shaping your life or your character, all whilst remembering how it will inevitably propel you into a better tomorrow. Don't just look at what you're missing from the previous season or the season you hope will come, but appreciate the snow, even if the cold is piercing. Don't forget to admire the luminous colours, even if the wind is blowing you left and right.
Perhaps you have a relationship that's ending, search intensely to find what you're learning, receiving or even gaining out of this experience in character, mind and outlook. Maybe you're in the middle of a harvest, keep an eye out for every little detail so that you may not only enjoy the obvious reaping of blessings but notice the daily things. Or perhaps you're in a long-standing winter that is simply blazing non-stop, watch out for the perseverance it's teaching you, the strength it's building inside you to keep fighting. There is always something to gain as long as Jesus is in it.
Also remember: don't compare the season you're in with others'.
And just like every country shows its season in its own unique and solitary way, our individual battles are the same. Even Jennifer LeClare states in her book 'Becoming a next-level prophet' how comparing one’s battles with another is not something the Lord wants us to do. She makes this analogy of how your battle may seem like the heaviest rock you have ever had to lift, but still, there could be someone right next to you that has a mountain instead.
I’m not just saying to think positively and remember that it could be much worse, but rather remember that every battle is individual to that person, to their relationship with Christ and their individual journey. Just because your friend's battle seems much easier, it doesn’t mean its weight is necessarily light. So don't compare the season you're in with theirs. The only other you should worry about is God: it's you, your eternal Father, Saviour and Comforter, and the faithful season you're in.
To summarise, I pray the Spirit of the Lord over you as you finish reading this. I pray that His power and strength bring you more motivation through whatever valuable season you're in: that you may remain faithful to it in the perfect timing of the Lord. I pray that Jesus paints a new picture in your mind and spirit that you may recognise the season you're in not only for its hardship but also its beauty. I pray that you are able to appreciate it all in patience and receive all His blessings, in order that you may be that much more ready for God's next change of seasons in your life.