Seasons Of Grace

Ecclesiastes 3
There is a time for everthing, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a atime to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

As Christians, our lives are not always going to be easy. There will be seasons of joy, seasons of sorrow, seasons of celebration, and seasons of frustration. We haven't been promied comfort, but we have been promised peace. Even when we cannot sense Gods's Presensce. His grace still sustains us.

Inevitably, we'll all expericnce a lifeless time in our walk with the Lord. This is probably the most difficult time in the life of a Christian. "Spiritual Winter" can happen as a result of certain events in our life, or it can be because we have become lazy in our service to God. Although we are alive in Christ, we feel dead. He seems far away. We've lost our spiritual hunger. Living for Jesus seems more like a duty than a privilege. We must remember that just because wer're having a difficult time does not mean we are bad Christians. It means we are ready for growth.

During those seasons if you are faithful to contnue caring for your soul, watering and nourishing it with the Word, through prayer, and by the Spirit, you will once again bloom! You may feel lifeless inside, but the truth is that this is just a season. There is still life inside you; God is still working inside you.

1 Peter 5:10
In His kindess God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while he will restore, support, and stregthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

During some seasons of our life, we may not be able to see very far ahead of us. Everything appears foggy, and we are not sure of what's happening around us. It feels dangerous, dark, and lonesome.

Just because we are Christians doesn't mean that we will avoid trouble and suffering. We have an enemy, Satan, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Suffering can come in different form, such as depression, discouragement, boredom, or loneliness. As discouraging as the clouds of suffering are, we can keep in mind that God is still working in us.

I recently heard a story about a man who was visiting a goldsmith. He watched as the man picked up the crucible containing the gold with large tongs, and then held the gold in the middle of the fire. Every few minutes the goldsmith would remove the gold from the fire, look at it, and then place it back in the fire. After watching this routine several times, the visitor asked, "How long do you keep the gold in the fire?"

The goldsmith reponded, "Until I can see my face reflected in it."

Although our suffering seems unbearable at the time if you look in 1 Peter 6-7 you will see that there is a greater plan in progress. God never causes trouble to happen to us; He is always there to help us though it. But His greatest concern is not our contentment with life (although He wants to bless us) but that we are being refined until His image is reflected in us.

You could say that God uses hard times and difficulties to refine us in the same way that we saw the goldsmith refine the gold. Times of suffering that you may experience in your life are opportunities you have to be made more like God.