Seasons Change (Part 1): Understanding the Seasons of Life
Pastor Scott Applegate
“Then God said, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.’ And that is what happened.” Genesis 1:14-15 NLT
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22 ESV
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT
The changing of the seasons should remind me that:
- I’m not God and they are beyond my control
“It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time. He has put a sense of eternity in people’s minds. Yet, mortals still can’t grasp what God is doing from the beginning to the end of time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 GNT
- God has a purpose in every season
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 NLT
- They include both good and bad times
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT
- What I sow in one season, I will reap in another season
“They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:3 NLT
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 NLT
Questions I need to ask in every season of life:
- What does God want me to learn in this season of life?
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10 HCSB
“For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.” Hebrews 12:10 NLT
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” Philippians 4:11 NLT
Is He teaching me to Trust? Faithfulness? Humility? Contentment? ______________?
- What can I be thankful to God for in this season of life?
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
- What should be my focus in this season of life?
“Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God.” Ephesians 5:15-17 JBP
- How can I serve others in this season of life?
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” Proverbs 3:27 NIV