Silent Seasons of the Soul

We face circumstances beyond our understanding and control. We find ourselves having to believe when God can't be seen or heard. Yet in the silent darkness, He is working. His silence in the shadows does not mean He does not care. A part of faith is trusting without answers, believing when it seems He is not there. The most important thing is how you deal with what you do in each season that comes upon you, because it will greatly affect your future. We learn the different Silent Seasons of the Soul.


SILENT SEASONS OF THE SOUL

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth. Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

CHANGE. The seasons change and with them, life. People come and then they go. Hearts are broken, then quickly mended. While sin blackens souls, God will cleanse them. One life dies, while a new one begins. Promises are made that will never be kept. First words spoken while last ones are uttered. And still the world turns; still the sun shines. People finally adapt to change and then...a new season.

Life comes with many seasons. We live in a world of changes. Every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by a supreme power, and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us.

There are many seasons of the soul as there are men with souls. We need to go with the flow, acknowledging God in each season He has chosen for us in that particular time and going along with it instead of resisting or rejecting it no matter how painful is may be. But also know that not all changes are bad; not all seasons bring pain and they all have a purpose.

Life will bring us questions without answers. To live is to encounter silent seasons of the soul. It seems our prayers go unanswered. We face circumstances beyond our understanding and control. We find ourselves having to believe when He can't be seen or heard. Yet in the silent darkness, God is working. His silence in the shadows does not mean He does not care. A part of faith is trusting without answers, believing when it seems He is not there. The most important thing is how we deal with what comes upon us during each season, because it will greatly affect our future.

Do you have a favorite season of the year? My favorites are Spring & Autumn.

Let's take a look at the four seasons that we see throughout the year. We know of the seasons, and look forward to some of them, and accept them and adapt to them.

Lets start out with my favorite:


SPRING.

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

In the spring you find rainy days that bring growth. Pretty flowers start budding. The beauty of new life springs forth. In the springtime, we receive a lot of rainfall to wash impurities from the air.

The storms of life that we encounter, God uses those times to purify our hearts. Rainfall or trials in our lives help us to grow in the Lord.

After our time of rainfall there is always sunshine to look forward to. I had a friend who always encouraged me that when storms of life come, I can be assured that the sun would shine again and she always reminded me of God's rainbow of promise. We can find much sunshine in the...


SUMMER.

Ps 42:1-2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

I think of summertime as a real fun sunshiny time in our lives. There are so many things to do and enjoy in the summer months. But of course too, as we really get deep into the summer, there comes a time where it can get pretty hot and dry.

In our walk with God, we start enjoying this mountaintop experience that we sometimes tend to neglect some things we should be doing for our spiritual life and all of a sudden our life becomes dry and barren and we find ourselves in a desert experience. This is a time where we long for the things of God once again. We develop a thirsting in our soul. And of course Jesus Christ is that Living Water that we need to quench that thirst. And then we get so much of God in this time but then comes the change.

Many changes start happening in this time of our life. We see ourselves in our Fall time...


AUTUMN.

Job 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

In Autumn, the leaves fall from their branches as the wind sweeps in. Everything is dying. Everything MUST die and be prepared for the next season. But during this dying time, we begin to notice the beautiful colors that Autumn brings. There is a beauty there that we do not yet see.

When I look at Autumn and how I see it in comparison with a season in life, I would have to say that it reminds me of a time where so much change comes upon a person. There are ways that God has to work in us and therefore we may be put through some tests in life. I think this season is the hardest of all. It is a short season yet it seems so long because it brings much change. During this season, the times can be difficult until we begin seeing the beauty of what the changes are bringing. It can move right into a real cold time for us. The air gets cold around us and there has to be a dying out to life at this time to survive what is to come next. The windy and cold time it brings sort of just sweeps us into our next season...



WINTER.

Psalm 51:6-7 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

That brisk piercing cold appears and this season brings snowfall. A white blanket of snow covering all.

The Word of God is like that. We get in this cold state and only the Word of God can cut deep into our innermost thoughts and desires causing an awakening. It exposes us for what we really are. It awakens us to what our life is and makes us aware of what needs changed. It also heals the innermost parts that have been wounded.

It brings back memories for me of the time I was filled with His Spirit when Jesus made me white as snow. But as time goes on, circumstances of life may cause pain and hurt and things start to look a little gloomy, and black starts to cover that snow as the whiteness seems to be melting away. The joy seems to have disappeared. If we come to the Lord, give it all to him, with forgiveness in our hearts, He is faithful and will heal all hurts and will send that fresh blanket of snow to cover us once again, because he loves us. God is love and love covers all.

So you see, life most definitely brings about many changes that we call "silent seasons of the soul". We never know when they will come and what they will be or even why they have to be, but not knowing when, what and why won't really make a difference. But growing closer and knowing Jesus, will. It helps just knowing, by reading it in scripture: "...to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven".

You WILL go through many different seasons in your life, but know that it is all for a reason. Seasons change. Lives change. I know that we can't completely PLAN for that season because we know not what it might be, but we can stay alert by keeping our eyes open and being aware of when a different season is approaching.

I always ask myself: I wonder what season this is? And I ask you...what season are you in? And how are YOU going to handle it?

Connie J. Schmoll

"Seasons Change" by Crystal Lewis