Seasons

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear town and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear a a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

As these verses say, there are seasons we will each go through. Some are more fun than others. The hard seasons are needed in order to appreciate the good ones. Throughout each season God is molding our character and shaping us into the person He desires us to be...if we allow Him.

Sometimes it feels as though we are stuck in the same season and will never get out. I know I have felt that way before. It is not fun. If that is you right now....be encouraged....it won't last forever. It will last as long as God needs it to last in order to more perfectly shape you in His image.

I really like the song "The Valley" by Lindsey Kane. It speaks to me every time. The words are full of truth. Here are the lyrics:

Just when I thought this valley couldn't get any deeper
Just when I thought I was stepping out of this
Just when I thought a mountian was in my view
That's when I saw you

You didn't take me out of it but you joined me in it
You didn't lift me out of it but you lifted me up in it
You didn't pull me out of it but you pulled me toward you in it
and I know
I'll be ok

Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?
Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?

Just when I thought this mountain couldn't get any steeper
Just when I thought I was falling off of it
Just when I thought that valley was in my view
That's when I saw you

You didn't take me out of it but you joined me in it
You didn't didn't lift me out of it but you lifted me up in it
You didn't pull me out of it but you pulled me toward you in it
And I know
I'll be ok

Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?
Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?
Thank you for this valley
In it I am made to be

You didn't take me out of it but you joined me in it
You didn't lift me out of it but you lifted me up in it
You didn't pull me out of it but you pulled me towards you in it
And I know
I'll be ok

Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?
Jesus where would I be without your sovereignty?

You may not like the season you are in, but God is there in it with you. He may keep you there for awhile, but He will NEVER abandon you. As I write these words I am challenged to believe them as well. The seasons will change and better times are ahead. I know that God has great plans for my future and my hope rests in that. I cannot hope in anything but Him because I will be disappointed everytime. Put your hope in Him and Him alone.