Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’.
We don’t throw away our winter clothes when we enjoy the summer sunshine as we know that the biting cold winter will soon cover the sky. Similarly, life has seasons. We will go through bright successful summer days, wet teary spring, cloudy dark autumn fall and grim, gloomy winter days in life. However, it does matter where we are and what we are going through; seasons are not static, this too will pass. God in His astounding wisdom has given us the solar system, seasons, structure and process to life. We don’t have to let one mistake consume the rest of our life. The concept of past, present and future is God’s spectacular renovating system to help us to throw the history behind, make new beginnings and invest, plan and prepare for the future.
God has a purpose for each season, day and decade. He has a divine purpose for placing us here and now. We will be able to understand His purpose for our lives only if we allow the seasons of our life to fashion us into our God given purpose. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Our loving Lord is in the process of using the good, bad and the ugly to accomplish His divine purpose in our life.
Seasons are God’s processing centres to accomplish His purpose in our lives:
1. Learn: Learn from the past but don’t dwell in it. Past is where you learn the lesson, future is where you apply it – in the middle, don’t give up – Dale Carnegie. A foolish person is not someone with a low IQ but the one who repeats the same mistakes over and over again and expects a different result. Learn from the most painful, messy or imprudent past, pick yourself up and start all over again. Joseph had every reason to carry the baggage of bitterness, betrayal and burdens of the past, but when he saw his brothers who mistreated him after 20 years in Egypt, he remembered “the dreams” he had as a little lad. He did not remember their cruelty, brutality and inhumanity. Declutter the pain of your past.
2. Live: Rehearsing the past will make us relive the pitiful past and consume the present. When we look at a bleeding wound it hurts more. Stop repeating the mishap, mistake and misfortune over and over again with your mind and your mouth. The more we repeat, the longer we would take to overcome the negativity, malice and meanness. Over celebrating the past success or over brooding the hurt will both destroy the present and derail the future.
3. Leverage: As long as we have breath in our nostrils and as long as we are sitting behind the wheel of a powerful engine called life, we must ignite, accelerate and leverage our gifts, talents and callings. There is no cap on age, achievements or accomplishments that stops new beginnings. Wisdom and wise living is sowing now what you want to reap in the future.
Learn from your past, make wise choices today to wake up into a fertile tomorrow. Don’t make permanent choices to fix temporary problems. This too will pass; this season will change. Summer is just round the corner.
Joel 2:26b My people will never be put to shame.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the seasons of life and the chances you give us to start again. Wipe away the painful memories of the past and help me to be sensible and learn from the past, live my present prudently and invest into my future wisely. Amen
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