WHAT SEASON ARE YOU IN?
Just as with the earth there are seasons, so there are in our walk with the Lord. If we are totally honest there are times when we say do not “feel” the Lord’s presence, but we do not stop praying. We sure need to ask the Lord to search our hearts to be sure there is no unconfessed in our lives, but often simply the Lord withholds His manifest presence so that we press in by faith, whether we “feel” him or not.
I happen to be in a season of being very conscious of the Lord’s presence in my life, and it is so easy to pray and praise and worship, and the Word of God being illuminated to me, and I am sure enjoying this time. I think that is why some old songs are bubbling up in my heart, like the one I mentioned in my blog yesterday “I have a destiny”. This morning I woke with this song bubbling in my heart, “It’s just like Jesus to roll the clouds away”.
I don’t want to make a habit of building blogs around old songs, even though they may be full of Biblical truth, but bear with in this season please ?
A friend I have called Jesus, Whose love is strong and true,
And never fails howe’er ’tis tried, no matter what I do;
I sinned against this love of His, but when I knelt to pray,
Confessing all my guilt to Him, the sin-clouds rolled away.
- Refrain:
It’s just like Jesus to roll the clouds away,
It’s just like Jesus to keep me day by day,
It’s just like Jesus all along the way,
It’s just like His great love.
- Sometimes when clouds of trouble bedim the sky above,
I cannot see my Saviour’s face, and doubt His wondrous love;
But He, from heaven’s mercy seat, beholding my despair,
In pity bursts the clouds between, and shows me He is there. - When sorrow’s clouds o’ertake me, and break upon my head,
When life seems worse than useless, and I were better dead;
I take my grief to Jesus then, nor do I go in vain,
For heav’nly hope He gives that cheers like sunshine after rain. - Oh, I could sing forever of Jesus’ love divine,
Of all His care and tenderness for this poor life of mine;
His love is in and over all, and wind and waves obey,
When Jesus whispers, “Peace, be still!” and rolls the clouds away.
We will never forget the day when the clouds of guilt and fear rolled away, and we were born again of the Spirit. Let us be honest, there have been many times since then there has been clouds and God seemed hard to find.
The clouds may have been sickness in our body, or bereavement in our hearts for a loved one who had passed away, it may have been when fear and doubt and unbelief again blocked our vision of the Lord. There have many times I guess when the clouds have been because of sin in our lives, and it is only when we come in repentance and cry out “God be merciful to me a sinner”, that the clouds roll away and the sun begins to shine again.
As touched on earlier there can also be that season when God seems far away (He isn’t really) and we cannot “feel” His presence, but the Lord wants to teach us to walk by faith and not by feeling. He doesn’t want us to just enjoy the feelings, but to love the Lord for who He is whether we “feel” Him or not.
So I ask you the question today “What season are you in? Is it cloudy and wintery? because of your unconfessed sin, or other circumstances in your world ? Or has God withdrawn His presence to teach you to “walk by faith”?
Unless we recognise the season we are in, we cannot learn for the experience, neither will the season change until God is ready, and sees that we have learnt from the experience.
I don’t know how long my present season will continue, I am sure enjoying it, and singing
I love to be in Your presence
With Your people singing praises
I love to stand and rejoice
Lift my hands and raise my voice
You set my feet a dancing
You fill my heart with song
You give me reason to rejoice, rejoice.
When this season ends I want to know that I have drawn closer to the Lord, the “changing process” is increasing that I am becoming more like Jesus. When I move into the next season it will be a “season of harvest”. God’s plan is not just to bless me but for me to be a blessing, for me I don’t know yet what sort of harvest, but I want to be to see the Kingdom of God extended, and God’s people, challenged blessed and maturing AMEN.
Would you tell me about the season you are in at this time? Maybe you need prayer to help you recognise the season, and know how to respond to it, or simply share your testimony of the “summer” of blessing you are experiencing.
