There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… – Ecclesiastes 3: 1

To me, more than with any other month, the coming of September marks the changing of seasons. It marks a change from baseball to football. It precipitates a change from rich green leaves to colorful falling leaves. It shows a change from shorts to sweaters. It causes a change from a relaxing vacation to the grind of vocation.

That is why, for the next several weeks, we are going to look at the whole notion of seasons. We will take the time to examine what they are, how they work and which season of life we may be in. As you already know:

1). Seasons are predictable. They have a pattern and a history of coming one right after the other.

2). Seasons are not permanent. Whether good, bad or indifferent, they never last forever.

3). Seasons are opportunities. Each season is an opportune time for certain things. That is to say, the best time to do a thing or have a thing is in its season.

4). Seasons are promised. The best motivation to keep you going in a dry season is the promise of the rainy season. On the other hand, the best thing to keep you humble and thankful in a bountiful season is the remembrance of or the anticipation of a lean season.

The real challenge, therefore, is not whether or not we will have various seasons as we go through life. Instead, our prayer must be to ask God for: 1. the discernment to know the seasons; 2. the directions to maximize the seasons; 3. the discipline to endure the seasons; and 4. the deliverance to enjoy the seasons.