The God of the Seasons

Church, one of the hardest realities for human beings to accept is that life does not remain the same.

We desperately want stability. We want permanence. We want certainty.

When things are good, we want them to stay good forever. When things are painful, we want the pain removed immediately.

But the Word of God teaches us something very different.

The Bible teaches us that life under the hand of God moves in seasons.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB 2020

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

Notice the language carefully.

Not some things. Everything.

The writer of Ecclesiastes is teaching us something deeply important: Life is not static. Life moves. Life changes. Life transitions. Life shifts.

Eccl 3.

There are seasons of joy. Seasons of sorrow. Seasons of abundance. Seasons of waiting. Seasons of strength. Seasons of weakness. Seasons where God feels near. Seasons where God feels silent.

Great causes of discouragement in the Christian life is that many believers expect permanence in a world where God Himself has established movement.

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And many believers panic because they mistake a season for a permanent condition.

But Scripture teaches us: God appoints seasons. God governs seasons. God uses seasons. God ends seasons.

And today I want us to understand some truths about the seasons of life.

God Appoints the Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB 2020

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

Daniel 2:21 NASB 2020

21 “It is He who changes the times and the periods; He removes kings and appoints kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to people of understanding.

Psalm 31:15 NASB 2020

15 My times are in Your hand; Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

Church, the first thing we must understand is this:

The seasons of your life are not random accidents.

They are appointments under the sovereignty of God.

Now that does not mean that God CAUSES every painful thing.

BUT

It means that nothing enters the believer’s life outside the government of God.

The believer does not live under fate. The believer does not live under luck. The believer does not live under chaos.

We live under providence.

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Even Jesus Himself experienced seasons.

There was a season of obscurity. Thirty years largely hidden.

A season of ministry. A season of rejection. A season of suffering. A season of crucifixion. And then resurrection.

The Father governed every one of them.

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Church, some of us are suffering unnecessarily because instead of fighting and meeting the challanges of each season:

We are fighting the existence of the season itself.

Every Season Has a Purpose

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB 2020

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

Church, God does not waste seasons.

Every season carries purpose.

Different seasons produce different things.

Some seasons strengthen us. Some humble us.

Some lift us. Some break us.

Some mature us. Some teach dependence.

Deuteronomy 8:2 says concerning Israel in the wilderness:

Deuteronomy 8:2 NASB 2020

2 And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, in order to humble you, putting you to the test, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

The wilderness was not pointless.

The wilderness exposed them.

The wilderness of humbeling them.

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Some seasons are for GROWING.

Some seasons are for EXPOISING.

You may think you trust God… until you enter a season of uncertainty.

You may think you are patient… until you enter a season of waiting.

You may think money has no hold on you… until financial pressure comes.

You may think your identity is secure… until rejection arrives.

Seasons reveal things.

Like what?

Seasons reveal that we often want impossible things.

Raise hand if:

We want: Harvest without plowing, Strength without resistance, Wisdom without suffering, Patience without waiting, Maturity without discomfort.

But God grows His people through process.

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Even Jesus said in John 15 that the Father prunes fruitful branches.

John 15:2 NASB 2020

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

Think about that.

Not dead branches. Fruitful branches.

Meaning sometimes painful seasons are not punishment. Sometimes they are preparation for greater fruitfulness.

And this is why we must stop assuming that every difficult season means God is angry.

Sometimes the season you hate is producing the very thing you prayed for.

You prayed for deeper faith. Then God allowed weakness.

You prayed for patience. Then God allowed delay.

You prayed for humility. Then God allowed failure.

You prayed for dependence upon Him. Then He removed the things you depended on besides Him.

Church, God is not merely interested in your comfort. He is shaping Christ in you.

And sometimes the tools of sanctification are uncomfortable.

Seasons Are Temporary

Now this becomes one of the greatest comforts in all of Scripture.

No earthly season is permanent.

Ecclesiastes keeps repeating: “A time to…” “A time to…”

Why?

Because the entire passage is movement.

Nothing under the sun remains fixed forever.

Psalm 30:5 NASB 2020

5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Notice: Weeping has a duration. Morning eventually comes.

Now this is important because Satan uses seasons against us:

He often waits for the seasons to speak:

Suffering whispers: “This is forever.”

Grief whispers: “You will never laugh again.”

Depression whispers: “You will never feel light again.”

Waiting whispers: “Nothing will ever change.”

But Scripture repeatedly reminds us: seasons move.

Winter does not reign forever.

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And this is not only true negatively. It is also true positively.

Prosperous seasons also pass.

Youth passes. Strength passes. Health passes. Earthly success passes.

This is why Scripture teaches both: Hope in suffering and Humility in blessing.

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You dont fight the seasons, you keep the faith no matter the season.

This is exacaly what Paul did:

Philippians 4:11–13 NASB 2020

11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

In other words:

I have learned how to lean and trust on God’s faiothfulness NO MATTER WHAT SEASON IT IS!

God Does Not Change Through the Seasons

The seasons change. God does not.

Malachi 3:6 NASB 2020

6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.

Hebrews 13:8 NASB 2020

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.

James 1:17 NASB 2020

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Church, everything around us changes.

Bodies change. Emotions change. Relationships change. Circumstances change. Economies change. Cultures change.

Even we change.

But God does not.

His character does not change. His wisdom does not change. His promises do not change. His covenant love does not change.

And this matters deeply because if God changed like seasons change, we would have no security at all.

Imagine if God loved you emotionally one day and rejected you the next.

Imagine if His promises fluctuated with mood.

Imagine if His faithfulness weakened under pressure.

But He does not change.

The believer’s confidence is not in the stability of the season.

The believer’s confidence is in the stability of God.

Church, this is why believers survive impossible seasons.

Not because they are naturally strong. Not because they understand everything. Not because they enjoy suffering.

But because beneath every changing season stands an unchanging God.

The waves move. The anchor does not.

And some of you today are exhausted because you have been trying to anchor yourself to temporary things.

You anchored yourself to health

To Busnises To money. To relationships. To comfort. To plans.

And when the season shifted, everything collapsed.

But God alone remains steady through every season of life.

Conclusion:

Do not give authority to a season.

Seasons themselves are temporary servants in the hands of an eternal God.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Not always immediately. Not always visibly. Not always understandably.

But in His time.

And perhaps that is one of the hardest lessons faith must learn.

God’s timing is not our timing.

But His wisdom is perfect.

So let me leave you with three final exhortations.

First: Discern your season honestly.

Stop pretending. Stop fighting reality. Recognize where God presently has you.

Second: Submit to the purpose of the season.

Ask: “What is God producing in me?”

Not merely: “How do I escape this?”

And third: Trust the God who governs the season.

Because the same God who appoints winter also appoints spring.

And the same God who walked with you in former seasons will walk with you in this one too.

Amen.