During my childhood, I remember hearing the wise words of elderly loved ones as they would reflect on the course of their lives, saying (something to the effect of)…“seasons seem long, but life is short.” As a kid, I did not fully grasp what they meant. At that time, all that I could think about was hurrying through the school year, so that I could spend my summers playing baseball and going fishing. However, each summer seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, I was back in the classroom enduring yet another school year. The reality is, it was our childhood that passed us by in the blink of an eye. Yet, in our present circumstances as adults, the seasons of life can still seem so long.
As a pastor, I have noticed that there is a natural tendency among people to be in a rush to get to the next season of life. Those who long to be married, rush through singleness. Those who have children in diapers cannot wait for their children to enter adolescence. Some long to have children, while others cannot wait for the empty nest. Those who are in the midst of their professional career seem to be in a hurry to enter retirement. In the process of rushing through life, one day you may wake up and realize that life has passed you by. Have you ever stopped and considered what God desires to teach you in your current season of life? I love the illustration that Miles J. Stanford described in his book, The Green Letters, speaking of the gradual growth of a mighty oak tree. Stanford proposed that when God desires to make an oak tree, he does not waste any seasons. He went on to state that “in some single months there is more growth than in all the year besides,” yet, it is during the most difficult months of the year that the solidification process happens. The current season that you may be enduring could be a tool that God uses to strengthen and mature you. Don’t rush through this season. Embrace what God is doing in your life today.
Former US Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, once stated that “the best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” However, humanity lives within the reality that we are not guaranteed tomorrow, but God has given us today. The Bible has much to say about the brevity of life. The wisdom of Solomon was on display throughout the book of Proverbs encouraging the reader not to “boast about tomorrow,” because we “do not know what a day may bring.” James, the half-brother of Jesus, spoke of human life as a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:13-15). Likewise, the Apostle Peter described human life as the “grass of the field,” comparing the glory of a person’s life to a “flower,” while acknowledging that the grass will eventually wither and the glory of the flower will quickly fade (1 Peter 1:24-25). Though this life, with its many changing seasons, may be quickly passing, if you are currently reading this article, you still have today. I encourage you to surrender this season of life to the God of heaven and ask him to change your perspective on life itself. Let this be the prayer of your heart: God, will you “teach us to number our days,” so that “we may get a heart of wisdom?” (Psalm 90:12).
As a Pastor, I would love to invite you to visit us in-person or online at Henry Baptist Church, where it is our desire to provide you with hope that extends beyond this life through the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ, which will ultimately help you to embrace today.
By Pastor Jon Estes – Senior Pastor at Henry Baptist Church