Introduction:

Ahhh Autumn! My absolute FAVORITE season. It finally came on September 22nd. Winter is too cold, Summer is too hot, and Spring comes with pollen and allergies, of which I am a victim. In the Springtime, I typically have to alternate between all the allergy meds, Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, Xyzal and Flonase. But Fall... What a beautiful season. The weather is not too hot, nor too cold. Although if you live in the US on the east coast, we are known to get the type of Fall weather that has an identity crisis. You may get Spring, Summer and Winter weather all in the same day, but for the most part, it’s nice and warm. Moderate temperatures. Occasionally crisp and chilly, but manageable with a light jacket. You get pumpkin flavored scents and you can finally start wearing boots again. Not to mention, in my personal opinion, Fall fashion is the best. No argument. 

Another reason why Fall is my favorite season is because of the way the leaves change colors. Beautiful colors like red, burgundy, burnt orange, and yellow. It is truly a sight to behold and I FALL in love (pun intended) with Autumn every time I see a tree covered in those colored leaves. Season-changing is not unique to the weather or the leaves. We too experience changes in the seasons of our lives. The hardest part of this Christian walk is when we find ourselves in a season and we don’t quite know how to navigate. I pray that this 5-day devotional will guide you through any changing seasons in your life.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4: For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

I believe that as seasons come and go, it’s important to be equipped. What you need in one season is not what you will need in another. (Even though for some strange reason, I sometimes find myself still needing Zyrtec allergy medicine in the summer, but stick with me here…) Just as you wouldn’t wear a winter coat in 97-degree summer weather, each season you find yourself in may require different resources or a different YOU entirely. Think about your life and the season you are in right now. Would you consider it a season of preparation? A season of sowing? A season of reaping harvest? A season of waiting? Whatever the season may be, I promise you that God has a purpose for it and He has equipped you with exactly what you need in that specific season.

As I look back on previous seasons in my life, I am 100% convinced that God used those seasons to prepare me for the season I am currently in today. About 5 years ago, God called me to a season of isolation. Where it was just me and Him (and my Maltipoo dog) in a 1-bedroom apartment over 100 miles away from friends and family. In that season, the only equipment I really had was the new church I visited occasionally, my worship music playlists, my Bible, and my journal. It was there in that season that the Holy Spirit began to reveal to me my identity in Christ. A key discovery that has carried me in later seasons of my life.

Maybe you are in school right now, and in a season of preparation for that exam or that project, or that degree. Ask God today what you need for the season you are in. Perhaps discipline and time management? Or maybe you are in a season of singleness, asking God to meet your life partner. Ask God today what He wants to equip you with to prepare you for the next season of marriage. Is it more patience? Is it selflessness? Perhaps the season you are in is a season of waiting. Waiting for something to be approved. Waiting for a blessing or a miracle. God is ready to equip you with all you need for that waiting period: peace, which surpasses all understanding, and joy that will not allow you to focus on what has not yet happened.

Prayer: Father I thank You for the different seasons in my life. I thank You for walking with me in each season and equipping me with all I need. Please help me to recognize where You have me, what You have given me, and what You need me to do in each season. May I not miss it. Amen.

Additional Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3- By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

2 Corinthians 9:10- He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

If you know me, you may know that I have a confectionery business where I make sweet treats like chocolate covered strawberries; I absolutely love them.

*chef’s kiss*

I looked up how to plant strawberries and found the process quite interesting. Basically when you are planting strawberries as seeds, you want to start in December and first keep the pack of seeds in the freezer for three to four weeks. Afterwards, you press them into moist soil in a seed starter tray and place them under light for a few weeks at temperatures of 65 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Afterwards, you can then place them in a garden outdoors.

What I found particularly interesting in my research was the fact that when sowing strawberry seeds, you likely won't have a good harvest of fruit until a year after planting. Most growers recommend pinching off the strawberry flowers the first year to direct the plant's energy into producing strong roots and a good, healthy plant. Then they can enjoy the fruit the second and third year after planting outdoors. They claim this is certainly a case where good things come to those who wait.

How apt. I liken that to us as Christians. Our season of sowing can be like a cold winter, to say the least. December is a pretty cold month, depending on where you are in the world, and yet this is said to be the best time to start sowing and to store the seeds in a cold freezer. You may sow tears. You may sow prayers. You may sow hard, exhausting work. You may feel you are in a cold, dark place. But notice how with the strawberry seeds, they can then be placed under light. Notice how it may even take 2 to 3 years to see the good harvest and during that time, the seeds are producing strong, healthy roots. And finally notice how, like the strawberry seed, after that long sowing season, truly good things come to those who wait.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for my season of sowing, because I know that my season of harvest is coming. I will reap all that I have sown. My roots will be strong. My sowing season will not be in vain. I will bloom. I will blossom into a healthy plant. And I will thrive. Amen.

Additional Scripture:

Genesis 8:22- While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Daniel 2:21- He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding

Spring Forward, Fall Back. This popular phrase is used in the United States to remind us of when to set our clocks ahead or behind by one hour for Daylight Savings Time. In the Spring, we set our clocks one hour ahead. In the Fall, we put our clocks one hour behind. In this digital age, most devices now do it automatically. For me, however, this popular phrase is another interesting reminder of a season change. Although we are already deep into a season when Daylight Savings takes place, you start to notice changes in the season. Suddenly your days get shorter and nights get longer (or vice versa, depending on the season)

I also think it’s a pretty accurate analogy for our lives. As seasons change, we will find ourselves in seasons where we do have to accelerate. Move quickly. Spring Forward. Leap into action. In other seasons, we may find ourselves having to fall back. Relax. Retreat. Take a step back to reflect and plan prayerfully. An important thing to remember is to not despise either season. They are both for our good.

At times, I have often heard people say things like “I am praying to God for my next move or for direction.” Or “I am waiting on God to tell me what to do next or if it’s His will that I apply for that job.” On other occasions, I have heard people say things like “God is waiting for you to move first, so that He can bless you.” This dynamic used to confuse me… because which is it?! Wait for God’s instruction concerning a particular season OR act in faith and just do it because God is waiting for us to make the first move? When it comes to certain decisions I make in my life, I never want to be asked “Well did you hear from God first? Maybe that’s why things didn’t turn out so good...”

If I may offer my personal, humble opinion… I think it’s both. I know, I know… I hate answers like that. But I truly believe it depends on the SEASON you are in. Are you in a “Spring” season, where you need to SPRING into action? Or are you in a “Fall” season where you need to fall back, reflect and listen for His instruction? Ask Him to show you today. It doesn’t have to align with the actual calendar seasons. It could happen any time according to His plan and purpose for your life. But trust me…He wants You to know.

Prayer: Father, please help me to know and understand Your plan and purpose for every season of my life. Grant me wisdom to recognize whether I am meant to take a leap of faith, trust You wholeheartedly, bite the bullet and just spring into action, knowing that You will order my steps and align my path. Help me to also recognize when I am in a season where I am meant to seek Your face and await Your instructions in the place of prayer and fasting. Amen 

Additional Scriptures:

Isaiah 30:21- Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

James 1:12- Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Remember in the Introduction, how I mentioned that if you live in the US on the east coast, we are known to get the type of weather that has identity crisis? You may get Spring, Summer and Winter weather all in the same day. Or your temperatures may fluctuate randomly within a week. I actually came across a funny meme that said:

Virginia Actually Has 12 Seasons

Winter, Fool’s Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, Third Winter, The Pollening, Actual Spring, Summer, Hell’s Front Porch, False Fall, Second Summer, Actual Fall.

I chuckled at this because it is SO TRUE! Seasons can be tricky. You may think you are in a particular season, only for Mother Nature to say “Gotcha! Tricked Ya! Now go back inside and get that jacket you left because you THOUGHT it was going to be a nice sunny day!”

I think this can be applied to our lives as well. How often do we think we are in a specific season, only to realize that we were completely wrong? This is why it is important to be adaptable. What often breaks us as Christians is when what we expected does not manifest into reality.  We expected a season of winning, and yet we find ourselves still in a season of waiting. Very recently, I applied for a great job and excelled in all interview stages. I was offered the position and I even signed an offer letter…only for the company to ghost me when I informed them of my planned vacation months away.

It was very disappointing, but I was adaptable. I quickly told myself “Well, maybe that job was not for me. Let me pick myself up and continue in my season of waiting, because I know that eventually God will bring me to my season of winning, my season of reaping, my season of harvest. The ability to dust your shoulders off (yikes, am I revealing my age here?) and keep it pushing when things don’t go our way is VERY important in the seasons of our lives. The ability to adapt and remain flexible in the various seasons will take us very far.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You for Your wisdom in each season. Please make me flexible. Please make me adaptable. When seasons do not go as I expect, please help me to remain steadfast. Trusting that Your plan is greater and very soon, I will enter my season of harvest. 

Additional Scriptures:

Philippians 4: 11-13- Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Galatians 6:9- And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Genesis 8:22- While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Well, you did it! You are finally in your season of harvest. You are reaping where you sowed. And God, in His infinite mercy, may even be allowing you to reap where you did not sow. Life feels grand right about now. Things have fallen into place. Prayers have been answered. You got the job. You got the healing. Your finances are thriving. Your car hasn’t squeezed money out of you unexpectedly in a long time. You are enjoying the soft life and LOVING IT.

Now what do you do in this season of harvest? Suddenly, that new job you got is so demanding. You are getting paid quite nicely, but you have so much work to do. There’s simply no time to read your Bible or spend time in God’s presence in the place of prayer. That new relationship that God blessed you with is a bit time-consuming. You’re always on FaceTime with the new boo so lately, there’s no time for Quiet Time.

May I please caution you, friend? How you behave in this harvest season is very important. What you set your eyes on and prioritize is a reflection of your heart. I urge you not to forget your previous seasons. Keep a journal if you need to, and document your Quiet Time sessions in different seasons and stages of your life. Let me tell you, it keeps you humble! Sometimes I have to go back and reread my old journal entries to remind myself of where God has brought me from. What seasons He has taken me out of.

Prayer is what we need to get our blessings, and prayer is what we will need to sustain them as well. Continue to seek His face as much as you can. Continue to depend on Him more than ever. Continue to spend time in His presence, so that as the seasons change, you will not walk them alone. He will be by your side in the season of sowing, in the season of reaping, in the season of waiting, in the season of winning, and even in the tricky seasons where you expect a certain outcome or certain weather and it doesn’t quite happen that way. God is faithful and His Holy Spirit will guide you through each one.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for helping me to enter this season of harvest. I thank You for all the blessings You have given me. Please help me not to forget the days of humble beginnings. Help me to remember You and to seek You first and always. May I never become too proud or think that I can do things in my own strength. Even when I have everything I have asked for, I still need You more than ever before. I still depend on You. Thank You for never leaving my side. Amen.

Additional Scriptures:

Psalm 105:4- Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!