Different Seasons: Part 2 - 'Changing Seasons'

Ecclesiastes 2:5-11
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
 a time to be born, and a time to die;
 a time to plant, and a time to pluck up 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 throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
 a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
 a time to seek, 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 for war, and a time for peace.
 
Isaiah 43:18-19 
   ‘Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
 
Romans 8:28 
  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
 
Hebrews 13:8
 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
 
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

 

Prayer and Reflection:
Loving God, help us stay close to you, to trust you and to keep your commandments through every season of life. In all our wrestling and struggling, help us know you and ourselves ever more intimately. Amen.



Questions to Consider

1. How would you describe the season you are currently in? What’s going on in life right now?
2. Is it a season you can clearly define – are there obvious beginning and end points within it, perhaps around home, work, projects, illness, relationships, some objective(s) that you are involved in or working towards?
3. Have you thought about the importance of those things and how they play into your sense of meaning and purpose?
4. Where does God feature in it all, for you?
5. Can you think of a time when it felt like you were between clear seasons – maybe when something really obvious had reached an end point of some kind?
6.If you are in such a time right now, take some time out to reflect prayerfully and write out: What has happened? How do I feel about it?Why do I feel this way about it? What Christian resources can I draw on to help as I move forward?
7. Who are the people around you that you talk things through with?