Eccl. 3:1-8 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what 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; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, 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.”
Just as there are season in our natural world, there are also seasons in our spiritual life. Winter is one of them.
Many people, because of how our natural seasons appear, believe our spiritual winters to be a dormant season. It is not. It is not a season where there is no movement or a season where God is not working. We may not see it, but something is happening in that dark, cold place.
God is watching over the seed, providing it with everything it needs. Nourishing it, equipping it and getting it ready to bloom in the right season. We can also help the process by continuing to declare God’s Word over our seed, even and especially when it feels like nothing is happening. That seed could be our promise or that seed could be us.
I remember the first year I planted a vegetable garden. I didn’t think my green beans were ever going to come up. I would check them every morning and every evening. One evening I checked them just before dark and there was nothing there, absolutely no sign of growth. The very next morning I went to the garden about 7am and there were my green beans! They had broken through the ground overnight…from that point on they grew fast. But they didn’t start there, they had been growing all along, I just couldn’t see it.
So, it is with us.
John 12:24 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
The Strong’s Concordance defines the word die as a temporary place of separation. Temporary being the operative word.
I don’t know what you are going through or how dark it looks to you right now. Perhaps it appears as if you are getting nowhere, and nothing is happening the way you thought it would. This too shall pass; it is only temporary.
This winter season will not last forever, it is just one season. Don’t allow the enemy to tell you it will not end or that nothing is happening with your prayers. Take heart, something is happening. You may not see it. You may not feel it. However, just because you can’t see it with your natural eyes doesn’t mean something isn’t taking place. I think of the many times in the Bible when it appeared God wasn’t listening or nothing was happening yet each and every time, God came through and did what He said He would do.
- Daniel in the lion’s den
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
- The birth of Isaac
- Noah and the ark
- The cross of Christ
The list goes on and on…
If this ministers to you today, you may be asking “What do I do in the meantime?” Most importantly, you walk by faith and not by sight. You trust God, even when you can’t see anything happening, He’s working. You also continue to declare His Word and His promise over your situation. And one day…just like my green beans, everything you have been standing in faith for will burst through and you will see a full manifestation of all God has promised. Blessed are we who believe, for we shall see a performance of all God has promised. (Luke 1:45)
