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Understanding Seasons

Understanding Seasons

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In the natural, we live life differently in summer than we do in winter. We are the same person, but what we wear, where we go, the sports we play, and the holidays we take are all subject to the season we are in.

As the natural seasons significantly impact our lives, so too do the spiritual seasons. The good news is, God doesn’t make the seasons difficult to recognise.

Psalms 1:1-3 (NIV) Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

This scripture tells us clearly that you can be a blessed person who meditates on God’s Word day and night, and yet only yield fruit in season. In other words, there are seasons when blessed and biblical people do not see the fruit that they have sown in the form of seed!

And then it goes even deeper by telling us that godly people prosper in whatever they do! Do you see it? You can be in a season that is not producing fruit, and still be prospering in every area of your life. God wants to change the way that we measure outcomes in our lives.

In the natural, a farmer only plants seed in certain seasons. That same farmer also only reaps a harvest in certain seasons. A farmer knows that you don’t plant seeds in harvest season, nor do you harvest a crop in seed time.

Proverbs 20:4 (NIV) Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.

If a farmer does not understand what is required in the different seasons, then frustration, disappointment and unfruitfulness is the result. How much more so for the people of God when it comes to kingdom matters! Understanding the seasons is made clear for us in His Word.

Not everything is budding and sprouting new life and growth all the time. Sometimes the season we find ourselves in is a season of preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering the seed and pulling out the weeds. The shift of measurement for many believers is this: These seasons are just as important as the seasons when we see the fruit, and we can prosper in God just as much in these seasons.

Is it possible that at times, the lack of fruit in our lives and ministry is because we have not ploughed in ploughing time? If we don’t plough, we won’t see a harvest. If we don’t plant seeds, we won’t see a harvest. If we don’t water and fertilise the seeds, we won’t see a harvest.

If we don’t become people of prayer, we won’t see a harvest of miracles. If we don’t become people of God’s Word, we won’t see a harvest of a transformed mind. If we don’t become people of faith, we won’t see a harvest of pleasing God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Not recognising the season that we are in can be tragic. We all know that King David committed adultery and followed this up with murder. It is one of the most devastating stories in the Bible. But how did it start?

2 Samuel 11:1-2 (NIV) In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.

David stayed home at a time when kings went off to war. As God’s appointed king, David was meant to be on the battlefield. Instead, he was at home resting. It was in this ‘out of position’ season that David was tempted and made some terrible decisions.

There are obvious indicators for us to recognise the natural season that we are in; we don’t have to strive to work it out. When it’s continually cold, it’s winter. When it’s hot all the time, it’s summer.

In the spiritual, God speaks clearly to those who position themselves to hear. People who humbly surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and continually saturate themselves in the Word will hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Those who have a posture of heart that declares, “Not my will, but yours be done”, will know what season they are in.

If there is any doubt, the greatest way to discover the season is to focus on God. It might take some time, but that is because God is enjoying the time with us and He knows the power of having our attention on Him.

It’s time to be wise discerners of the seasons. It’s also time to be diligent to do what is needed in the God-ordained season. Understanding seasons empowers us to honour God and to flourish in life.

So, what is it the season for in your life?

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The Year To Build

The Year To Build

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2021. A new year dawns and with it the promise of new beginnings.

For those of you for whom 2020 was a most difficult year, I want to declare the absolute certainty of a fresh start as you receive Father’s wonderful love and grace, releasing you from any disappointments of yesterday.

For those of you for whom 2020 was a year of fruitfulness, I want to declare that this is a new year with new horizons and that it is not a year to ‘maintain’ but a year to build!

1 Corinthians 3:10  (NKJV) According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

Friends, God holds us responsible for the lives and the destinies that He has given to us.  He requires faithful stewardship of our calling, marriage, family, finances, energy and ministries. The question is not IF He wants you to build, but WHAT He wants you to build.

So… how and what are you building this coming year?

Possessing your God-given destiny is all about building successfully as the responsive partner in your partnership with Him. He is the Divine Architect, you are the executor of His plan and purpose.

  • My friend, do you have an anticipation of the future?
  • Is today pregnant with potential because of the Master Plan to which you walk?

Take time to listen, take time to hear Father’s commissioning voice clearly, take time to plan and strategise, as He directs. Take time to put values and boundaries into place that will keep you rested, fresh, energised, and sensitive to Holy Spirit’s whispers.

And take time to be filled with a renewed revelation of your authority as a royal son or daughter. Let that so fill your heart with increased faith that the mundane will flee and the excitement of new conquest will burn brightly within you.

As you listen to His voice anticipate a new and bold future of enlargement, increase and adventure! There is a new destination waiting for you.

2021 is not a repetition of last year, it is a year to build on all that Father has already accomplished in and through you.

I pray that every day will be filled with His wonder and your own inner delight at bringing Him celebration and joy.

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The Call of God

Don’t Postpone the Call of God

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The call of God is anything God asks us to do; it’s God’s will.

There are general calls: come to the Father through Jesus, talk to God in prayer, discover God in His Word, love people like Jesus loves us, be gentle, patient and kind, be self-controlled, live life according to God’s Word etc.

Then there are specific calls: God may have asked you to go somewhere in particular, call someone to encourage them, forgive someone who has hurt you, or change careers. Father may call you to go to Bible school, lead a home group, get involved in youth ministry or children’s church, give a certain amount of money to a specific cause, stop something you have been doing for a while, or start something new.

Do you know what God has asked you to do? What is your commission? And are you postponing the call of God?

The word postpone means “to cause or arrange for something to take place at a later time than that first scheduled.” (Lexico online dictionary)

The first thing I notice is that when we postpone, there is an intention to do the thing which is asked or planned. Many people have the thought that they will do what God has said…but just not right now. There’s a thought of “I will do it…one day”. However, the longer we delay, the more likely we will disobey.

Why do we postpone what God asks us to do? Might I suggest that it’s because we don’t really trust Him. I’ve learnt that to know the Author is to trust the Author. God’s Word shows us that when God calls us, He enables us to fulfill that call. Therefore, I’ve learnt I can always trust Him!

GOD IS A GOOD GOD:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

GOD IS A GOD OF INVITATION:

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING FOR MY GOOD:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

The enemy tries to convince us that by postponing the call of God we are protecting ourselves from bad things. The truth is, when we delay obeying God’s will, we are keeping ourselves from God’s best. But we need to understand that obeying the call is not always easy.

God’s Will

God’s will comes at a cost – to God and to us

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.”

  • God’s will doesn’t come at a convenient time – to God and to us

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Luke 9:59-62 He said to another man, “Follow Me.” But He replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

  • God’s will in our lives will be contested

God’s will is contested through contradictions (Joseph and his God-given dream)

Genesis 45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

God’s will is also contested through disappointments (Job lost almost everything)

Job 1:21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

I have a conviction that we cannot lose when we do God’s will at the time He asks us to do it.

On your way to discovering God’s specific will for your life, commit to being faithful with God’s written will which is found in His Word. We have a call to be about our Father’s business: “Not my will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42) We also have a call to be a part of God’s family: “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9) We are adopted as sons and daughters, dearly loved children, friends of God.

The Lord speaks to us in the book of Jeremiah about His wonderful will for our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11) God’s will is always the best place for us. God will always bring His good work in us to completion. There comes a time when we must make God’s will and His call our first and greatest priority.

A New Destination

A New Destination

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Father wants to put fresh, new spiritual destinations in your heart, along with a compelling purpose for pursuing them. God has a new destination for you – this is a time to be listening!

Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The Hebrew word ‘wilderness’ means, ‘a vast open field where cattle are driven’, ‘uninhabited land’, or ‘large tracts of open land and pasture’.

The picture is of someone herding cattle like a drover and discovering uninhabited, vast plains of land that are virgin territory. However, the thought is not that of dryness. Quite the opposite! ‘A road in the wilderness’ speaks of a place where there is an abundance of food for cattle. Settlers can come and prosper in a new land. The ‘wilderness’ speaks of new territory. Expansive new territory – a new destination!

Father clearly spoke to me one morning a number of years ago and said: “I want the rest of your life as a blank sheet of paper.” I was amazed, as I sincerely considered that was the case already. However, over a period of a few weeks He showed me how subtle the nature of our desires can be. Indeed, our view of the future can be influenced by our knowledge of the past. I had to discover a place of complete surrender, with no qualifications attached. What an incredible sense of anticipation then flooded my heart!

So, if you feel as though you are facing a wilderness, take courage. The promise of God is that He will give you a ‘road’ that will cause that wilderness to become accessible and a place of great fruitfulness.

Can I encourage each one of you to take some time aside to present yourself afresh before the Lord to hear from Him.  Bring your own blank sheet of paper to see what exciting new things He would write upon it for your future. Of one thing I am certain: He has a remarkable and fruitful new era for each one of us, if we dare to embrace it.

God's Timing

God’s Timing

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Have you ever dared to dream a dream but wondered when? Has God said that it is time for change, but you are wondering when? Have you ever been challenged to take a new horizon in faith but wondered when? What does God’s timing really look like in our lives?

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that there is an appointed time for every purpose. God has an appointed time! But history tells us that, on many occasions, God’s people missed that divine moment. All heaven was anticipating with great excitement only to see man missing that opportunity; procrastination, human logic and selfish complacency robbing them of their destiny.

In Exodus, God delivers Israel from Egypt in order to take them into the Promised Land in a matter of days. Right on cue the day arrives, but unbelief and a lack of trust causes them to miss their moment. The result was a wasted generation – 40 years spent in regret. They failed to seize the moment! Oh, the tragic consequence of failing to seize the moment!

Contrast that with World War 2 and what would become D-Day. In the middle of a week of horrendous weather came a brief window of opportunity. It was so brief that the German High Command did not believe anyone would attempt anything. But Churchill and Eisenhower were men that seized the moment. They launched that invasion and the tide of world history changed.

In Luke 19:41-44, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. Why? Because, “You did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (verse 44) They failed to seize the moment of God’s opportunity.

Friends, we live in urgent days. In each of our lives, God is challenging us to greater horizons of faith, deeper levels of trust, greater intensities of commitment, zeal and passion, bolder steps of initiative. But will we seize the moment? Or will we procrastinate and lose the promise? I believe that our Father is looking for an attitude: My people shall be willing in the day of My power!

Now the question arises: How do we know if it’s God’s timing or not? Here are my thoughts on that:

  • God is a God of order
  • Psalm 37 declares that the steps of a righteous person are ordered by the Lord
  • Philippians 3:15 tells me if my heart and motivation is right, that should I ever leave the path of God’s intention, the Holy Spirit will let me know
  • God is not the author of confusion

Therefore we can deduce that:

  • If it isn’t clear, it isn’t the right time
  • If I have a check in my spirit from the Holy Spirit, it isn’t the right time
  • If my spouse or spiritual oversight have a conviction that it is not the timing, it isn’t the right time
  • If I’m not living as a man or woman of purity, prayer and friendship with God and His people, then I shouldn’t trust my own instincts

However, if:

  • I am a man or woman of prayer
  • I am in a right relationship with my oversight and the people of God
  • I am pure in my motivation to serve God and His Kingdom
  • The fog has cleared and what God has said to do is clear

Then, start taking steps of obedience and faith! Do it now!

Let me encourage you to be bold and courageous in your response to Father’s invitation and see that new day drawn out of the realm of promise into the realm of today’s experience.

Embracing the future of our Father’s intention for God’s timing in our lives.