Walk in Your Season

My flowers, though they are in the same garden, have different blooming seasons. Some bloom in early spring, others bloom in mid to late spring. My late spring bloomers give way to my flowers that bloom in the summer. No matter their bloom cycle, I take care of each type of flower through every season. God treats us the same way. We may be in the same family, same church and the same body of Christ, but our season will be different. God has each of us on an individual care plan. I don’t control what season my flowers bloom; God does! I don’t control when they go dormant; God does! I don’t control how many, if any, blooms I get from each plant; God does! God controls the outcome for each season for my plants and He controls the outcome for each season of our lives too! We spiritually come into a new season (spring), have to get through some trials and tribulations (summer), then we bloom (autumn or harvest) and go into dormant (winter) seasons as God dictates. Our goal isn’t to control the seasons we’re in, our goal is to operate in the correct manner for the correct season so we’re prepared for the next season! In my flowers’ DNA, God has given them wisdom and knowledge. As appointed by God, they know when to grow, when to bloom, when to go dormant and when to die. My flowers don’t judge themselves by other flowers. They pay attention to the instructions that they’ve been given by God and they govern themselves in accordance with God’s will and purpose. We can learn a lot from flowers! According to Psalm 139, God has written every day of our lives before one of them is lived. he knows what’s going to happen and when and how it’s going to come about. He knows when our new beginnings are going to happen, when we’re going into our dormant season and how long each season will last. God even knows what we’re going to look like when we bloom in our harvest season. God has locked our seasonal codes in our spiritual DNA. Just like my flowers don’t judge or compare themselves by other flowers, we shouldn’t judge or compare ourselves to other people because our job is to live up to and live into God’s will and purpose for our lives. The only person we should compare our lives to is Jesus Christ. His life is the one we should be trying to replicate. In this book I’m using daily items such as seeds, soil, land, water and tools to discuss spiritual seasons, spiritual planting, spiritual sowing and spiritual reaping. Seed – this is the thought that comes from God which, if we have enough faith to obey, will take us to a new level of living. This is what God did for Jacob in Genesis chapter 30. Logically, laying striped reeds in front of the sheep and goats so they could see the reeds while they were drinking at the watering trough and while they were mating should not have effected what the offspring of the sheep or goats looked like. Turning the faces of the flocks towards the strong striped and all black sheep and goats should not have determined what the offspring of the sheep and goats looked like, but it did. God makes things turn out the way he wants them to if we have enough faith and trust in God to do what he’s asked us to do. Soil – Our soil is our heart. It is where God’s Word, our faith and trust in God lives. It is where our seed is nurtured, watered and fed by God’s Word and our faith. Our goal is to have good soil. We need to allow the Word of God to push out all the weeds of the world system, break up the fallow ground (hard, unyielding and rebellious ground) that past hurts and disappointments have left and remove all the excuses of yesterday that stunt our growth today. In order for the seed that God has planted in us to grow, we have to be willing to allow God to cultivate our hearts, thereby enriching our soil so we can bring forth a bountiful harvest. Land – The place where God has positioned us to work and use our tools. In the natural, when you obtain land, you only work your land. It is unlawful to go to someone else’s land and claim any of the rewards of their work unless they hire you as an employee. Working for someone else is not going to give you what God had prepared for you in your Promised Land. When God gave the Israelites their Promised Land he didn’t give them dominion, authority or power over the land that wasn’t theirs. When they went into their Promised Land, they were able to farm the land, grow crops, keep flocks, build homes and raise their families off the land that was rightfully theirs. Too many in the Body of Christ want to mimic copy or steal from someone else because we’re too lazy to work our own land. Some of us have not taken possession of our land because of fear and doubt. Deuteronomy 1:21 says, “See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Are you willing to forfeit the land that will bring you prosperity, wealth and give you the ability to take care of your family because of fear? “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” II Timothy 1:7. Tools – While we are working our land, the tools we use will be our gifts, talents, abilities and anointing. Why would you want to use your tools to enrich another person’s land? Genesis 2:15 states, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” God gave Adam the Garden of Eden to work and to keep. He didn’t give Adam the land outside of the garden until after the fall. God gave Adam specific land and duties. He does the same thing for us. God expects us to use our tools to work and keep the land He has given each of us. In our neighborhood we have new neighbors who, by my standards, don’t keep up their yard. There are weeds everywhere, their grass is brown from lack of water and they have plastic flowers in their yard. REALLY!? PLASTIC FLOWERS?! WHO DOES THAT?! No matter how upset I get when I see their yard and how much I want to go and pull up their weeds; it’s not my yard. That weed infected, brown grass growing, plastic flower dwelling is their yard and they can keep it anyway they choose. Besides, if I went over and pulled up all their weeds and took care of their yard, who would take care of my yard? It is the same thing with our spiritual land. God has given us the spiritual land he wants us to work and to use the tools that he has given us for our land. Don’t allow your spiritual land to lie in ruins because you are too busy working on someone else’s land. Throughout this book I’m going to use biblical scriptures, people’s stories, flowers and physical fitness to illustrate how to operate in each season. We have to work, not harder, but smarter. We have to know how to handle the challenges each season has for us in order to be victorious. This book is designed to help you: 1. Identify your current season 2. Accept the season you’re in 3. Walk in your current season as you prepare for the next season 4. Prepare yourself for your harvest season