Cherie and I often pray that God will confirm things to both of us so that when something needs to be decided, we are already in agreement and headed in the same direction – God’s direction for us. Cherie’s February 15 newsletter is one example of this. She wrote an analogy of a tree in a winter season to describe the time we (and probably some of you) are going through. Without her knowledge, I had received the same impression from the Holy Spirit. We are currently in two different states 600 miles apart and received the same word from God! I love when that happens!
With that said, I have more to share regarding our lives and the seasons we go through. (I’m not an expert on tree life, so some of you may need to correct me on certain details, but I’ll do my best!)
To start, just like the trees outside your window, we are all subject to the changes in seasons. Apple trees and peach trees and palm trees and oak trees all experience the harshness and barrenness of winter, the birth and growth of spring, the warmth and vitality of summer, and the coolness and blustery winds of fall. There is not one of us that is exempt from shifting through the different spiritual seasons.
Cherie wrote of the winter season and the importance of it. On the surface, things look dormant. But God is working in the quietness and the cold weather to strengthen us and and prepare us for spring. (Feel free to re-read Cherie’s article for reference.)
Everyone’s winter seasons vary in length. The length of the season depends on what God has called us to and what He is preparing and strengthening us for. It also depends on how well we cooperate with God. The more we fight what God is doing, the longer it takes us to learn and be strengthened. Psalm 30:5 tells us that “joy comes in the morning,” but it never tells us how long the night is. Rest assured, the longer the trial is, the greater the blessing will be.
After our winter season of strengthening, we start to move into spring, and it is time to be pruned. Springtime is a time of blossoming, and God wants to see us flourish. To do so, He needs our growth to be focused in the right places, and He will prune away those things which will hinder or slow our growth, even the good things in our lives that distract us from His plans for us. “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” (John 15:2). He shapes and manicures us so that we will succeed and thrive for His kingdom.
Springtime is a time of birth, life, beginnings, and renewal. As followers of Christ, when we enter a season of springtime in our lives, we are called to grow in Him. To do that, we need to be planted in good ground. That good ground is a solid church that preaches the word of God and is sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We need to be sure we are planted under the covering of church leaders – our pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, and evangelists – who will pray for us and disciple us as we grow. As the Holy Spirit leads them in what to teach and preach and share, He waters and fertilizes the good ground, enhancing our growth in Christ to make us strong, unwavering, more beautiful and abundant.
As we continue to seek God, His will, and His favor, we continue to grow in Him. Often, as we are growing, we don’t notice the changes in ourselves… but others do. Just like we spot buds on the trees or crocuses popping through the soil, others can spot small changes in us that hint at more to come. We begin to bud, then flower, then eventually grow green with strengths and gifts which God has put inside of us.
Three places in the New Testament describe many of the gifts God gives for us to grow in and use for Him – 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. (See scriptures below.) These gifts are from God’s kingdom given to us to be used for the ecclesia (God’s church) to edify, support, exhort fellow believers.
As we learn to use our gifts by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, we see more and more of His strength in us and begin to understand the winter season of strengthening we’ve been through. Imagine speaking God’s encouragement (rather than our own) into someone’s life and watching it change them in an instant. They are being touched by God through you. What an honor! What a delight!
To be continued…
Stay tuned for Part 2 of “To Everything There Is a Season” in our next newsletter!
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To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)
He cares for the branches connected to Me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.”
John 15:2 (TPT)
To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
I Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)
So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV)