The Gift of Every Season

It's enough to give you spiritual whiplash. "A time to be born and a time to die… a time to weep and a time to laugh." That's straight out of God's Word. Sensational! How are you and I meant to find peace in the middle of that lot? Think of it this way. It's like watching someone at the gym. They grimace through heavy squats, sweat pouring down – and then smile in triumph as they finish the set. Pain and strength aren't opposites there; they're partners. The struggle is what shapes the strength. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. (ESV) Wise old King Solomon of Israel wrote those words late in life, looking back over everything he'd been through and realising that life's seasons aren't random. Each one has a purpose under God's hand. In a culture obsessed with comfort and pleasure, truly, we want to avoid the hard seasons at all costs. Yet those are the very times when God shapes us most deeply. So, if you're in a season of sorrow or struggle, don't wish it away. Let God use it. Because in His timing, every season is a gift. Every tear becomes the soil from which joy grows. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.