Preparing For The Next Season

Some time later, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land (1 Kings 17:7 NLT)

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, the scripture says “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” A “season” is a period of time and a “time” is a specific point in time. Solomon's thesis is this: every activity of mankind has a proper time and a predetermined duration. Our lives will be a lot less stressful if we recognize that the omniscient hand of God has appointed a time when things are to be done, and He has a predetermined duration for those things to last. We must learn how to think seasonally, not circumstantially.

When I think seasonally, I realize that

some stuff ain't supposed to last

some people ain't supposed to last

some doors are supposed to close

some people are supposed to walk out on you, and

some stuff is supposed to stop working.

When I think seasonally, I refuse to get stuck in my yesterdays:

yesterday’s memories

yesterday’s mistakes

yesterday’s methods or

yesterday’s miracles.

When I learn how to interpret my situation from a seasonal perspective, it provides me with enormous comfort in the face of challenging times, because I spend less time grieving over the last season, and more time getting ready for the next one!

There was a prophet named Elisha who had experienced the protection and provision of God during a devastating famine that struck the nation where he lived. Every day for 3 years, God provided him with sustenance from a nearby brook. Then, the brook dried up! He arrived at the brook one morning, and all the water was gone. But Elisha seemed to have grasped the fact that his season at the brook was over. Interestingly, Elisha did not complain, accuse, or blame God. Nor did he request that God re-open the brook. Instead, he awaited instructions on how to proceed. Soon, the instructions came. Elisha was told to relocate to a widow’s house 75 miles away.

Tucked in that episode are 3 helpful lessons on how to get ready for a new season when the “brooks” in our lives begin to dry up.

A new season requires a new sensitivity. His preparation for the new place of provision began when he noticed that the old place of provision had dried up, and immediately began listening for new instructions.

A new season also requires a new sacrifice. The new place of provision was 75 miles away, and this incident occurred long before the invention of the automobile. Elisha would have to walk.

Finally, a new season requires a new strategy. The new place of provision was the home of a poor widow, who seemed like an unlikely source of anything except a headache. But miraculously, the widow became the instrument God used to sustain Elisha for the next season. Elisha would have missed his miracle if he had failed to see the potential in what looked like a problem.

Brooks always dry up. But there is a widow waiting.

Stop crying over the season that passed. Get ready for the season that’s coming.