Back-to-school in North America means the seasons are changing. Not so for Belize. Here the return to school is smack-dab in the middle of rainy season, which runs from May through December. In our spiritual lives, like in nature, seasons change. Sometimes that change is gradual, like Spring buds pushing up through melting Winter snow. Sometimes it jars us, like seeing pumpkin decorations at the grocery store in July. What?! I'm not ready!
Unlike natural seasons, which mark the change with changing temperatures and changing harvests, spiritual seasons can be a bit harder to pinpoint. It's easy to just keep on trucking, doing what we've always done and miss-out on how the wind of the Spirit has shifted.
In the natural, we might be wearing warm weather clothing, when a sudden downpour catches us off-guard. Spiritually, we might be comfortable in our long-held roles at church when a sudden need pulls us out of our comfort and into a new area of ministry. In our homes, a family friend may suddenly need a place to stay. Will we adjust to the new season and embrace it? Or will we cover our heads and pretend it's not raining?
Isaiah 43:18-19 talks about perceiving the changing seasons in the Spirit:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland."
What new things could God be doing in your own life? Do you perceive a change? Did you hear the wind whistle? Did you feel a drop of rain? My prayer for you is that you would ask God to show you the signs of changing seasons and that you would lean into the change, because (who knows!) the next season just might be your best!
God, lead us into a season of abundant harvest for Your great glory.