Grace for This Season

Scripture Focus

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”

Isaiah 43:18–19 NIV

Reflection

One of the harder lessons I am learning is that not every good season is meant to last forever.

That can be difficult to accept.

We pray for God to change difficult circumstances, but sometimes we struggle just as much when He allows good things to change.

Children grow up.

Relationships change.

People move.

Our bodies change.

Churches change.

Careers change.

The people who once walked closely beside us may no longer be there.

Places that once felt like home can begin to feel different.

Even we change.

Sometimes we look around and realize that life doesn’t look the way it used to.

There can be grief in that realization.

But change does not automatically mean something has gone wrong.

Ecclesiastes reminds us that life comes in seasons. There is a time for things to begin and a time for things to end. There are seasons of building and seasons of letting go. There are seasons when God asks us to plant and others when He allows us to harvest what was planted years ago.

The difficulty comes when we try to live in a season God has already brought to an end.

Sometimes we become so attached to what God did that we have trouble seeing what God is doing.

We say, “I remember when…”

There is nothing wrong with remembering.

Our memories can remind us of God’s faithfulness. We should thank Him for the people, experiences, opportunities, and seasons that helped shape us.

But memories were never intended to become our permanent residence.

God is still working.

Isaiah records God saying, “See, I am doing a new thing!”

That statement challenges me.

Because sometimes I want God to do a new thing while keeping everything else exactly the same.

But new seasons often require letting go.

Letting go does not mean the previous season didn’t matter.

It mattered enough to help prepare us for where we are now.

The person you were twenty years ago helped shape the person you are today. The lessons you learned, mistakes you made, relationships you experienced, prayers God answered, and even some prayers He didn’t answer have all become part of your story.

But God isn’t finished writing it.

Maybe that is one of the beautiful things about following Jesus.

As long as we are here, there is still something to learn.

There is still someone to love.

There is still someone to encourage.

There is still something to give.

There is still another opportunity to become more like Christ.

Your purpose does not disappear because your season changes.

Sometimes your assignment changes.

There may be things you could do in a previous season that you cannot do anymore. But there may also be wisdom, patience, compassion, and perspective in you today that you did not have back then.

Don’t overlook what God has developed in you while wishing you could return to who you used to be.

And don’t become so focused on what is ending that you miss what is beginning.

Maybe this season looks different from the one you expected.

Maybe you’re excited about what comes next.

Maybe you’re grieving what you’ve lost.

Maybe you’re somewhere in between.

Whatever this season looks like, Jesus is still here.

The same Christ who walked with you through yesterday will walk with you through today.

So thank God for what was.

Be present for what is.

And trust Him with what is becoming.

There is grace for this season too.

Pause and Consider

• Is there a previous season of life you have been struggling to release?
• What has God developed in you through the seasons you’ve already lived?
• Are you so focused on what has changed that you may be overlooking something new God is doing?
• What might faithfulness to Jesus look like in your life right now, rather than five or ten years ago?

Live It Today

• Take a few minutes to thank God for one season of your life that has ended.
• Instead of only thinking about what you have lost, write down something God has given you through that experience.
• Reach out to someone entering a season you have already walked through. Your experience may be exactly the encouragement they need.
• Ask God one simple question today: “Lord, what are You teaching me in this season?” Then give yourself enough quiet to listen.