The Journey – 2. Two SEASONS God takes us through

As God leads us and and guides us along the journey He has us on, there are two unique seasons I have come to encounter. And I see them all throughout the scriptures –

1. The season of His presence/fruitfulness. (a time where He refreshes and renews our souls)

2. The season of His absence/pruning. (where He builds and strengthens our faith)

One gets us ready for the next.

Let me reassure you. One season is not better than the other. Both are necessary and both are God ordained. In fact, God is in both seasons.

And both seasons have a purpose. Each are designed by God and with God’s love. No season is ever meant to harm but to reveal – Who you are and who He is for you.

When He reveals Himself (His presence) or makes Himself known, He is blessing us. When He seemingly hides (His absence), He’s building us and allowing us to learn how to live contrary to how we may feel.

Heb. 13.5 (NKJV) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God took Jesus’ through these two seasons as well.

Luke 3.21 (NKJV) When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
Luke 4.1 (NKJV) Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit (Presence), returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Absence),
Luke 4.14 (NKJV) Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

After Jesus was filled with the Spirit at His baptism, God led Him into the desert. He does the same with us. The spirit that filled us, now leads us to a place of building and strengthening.

While both seasons are wonderful, the season where you can’t sense or feel God can be very painful. It is a place of deeper intimacy, but there is a struggle for experiencing God. Wanting to know that He is near. Its in this season that we often hear ourselves saying, “God where are you?” “God when will you answer me?” “God, how much longer?”

How many been there before?

Through your “desert” experience, you become a partaker of God’s divine nature — His maturity, fruit, and anointing. In the desert season, God establishes your call your character and your anointing. It is what He reveals in this season that produces lasting fruit for many seasons to come.
This season of apparent absence is the place of God speaking his voice. It is in these seasons that we learn to trust and hear God’s still small voice. This is a season where He gets our attention.
Many of us here today have not learned how to ENJOY the seasons God takes us through.

Maybe some of you here today struggle to trust Him when your plans don’t work out or you maybe see others doing better than you.

The foundation of trust is relational. Its knowing who You are to God and who He wants to be for you.

Regardless of the season you are in, it requires
Our total SURRENDER
God’s perfect TIMING
Our complete TRUST
God’s amazing GRACE