Seasons

             

  How many times have you ever sat in a church and wondered why the church is not doing more for the hurting people in the community?  How many more times have we sat there and thought about all the outreach the church could do if they had more money or more time?  The answer to both questions would probably be a lot more time than we would like to put an actual number on.  I know that I have done it too many times to count.  I would love to say I have come up with answers on either question but those are the questions that will live forever in the church.

                The question that really needs to asked is, have we done all we can in ourselves to improve the church in order to reach the community.  We all have areas of our lives that need God to sand down the abrasive edges off and remold them into a malleable piece that can be used to serve Him.  There are rough patches in our lives that help develop the calluses towards others.  We all go through times when we believe that other people don’t deserve to breathe the same breath as us.  Those are the times that we need God to come in and change our heart and head.  He is there to remind us there is a season for everything and when we continue to praise Him everything will work out for His glory.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, “1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and time for peace.”  With these verses, God covers all possible times in our lives. 

                No matter how bad things are in our lives at that moment, God has given us a promise that we can always hold onto.  Hebrews 13:8 gives us that promise, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and  today and forever.”  Jesus can and will walk with you through every season you can experience.  That does not mean He will give you easy way out of the situation, rather He will stay closer than a brother and comfort you when the hard times come.  When we stand firm on the belief that Jesus is there in the trying times and good times, then we will experience an overwhelming sense of calm in our lives.  I have to many social media friends that need the calming hand of Jesus in the situations they are going on a daily basis.  You are only promised the last breath you took, so listen to that small still voice in your heart or respond to that strange feeling.  God does not always come to you in an extravagant manner.  Most of the time He comes in the form of a feeling of missing something in your life.  No matter how God comes to you, respond to Him and accept Him into your heart.  He will continue to love you whether you accept Him or not, but there will be a rejoicing like no other when you allow Him to knock off the abrasive parts and become a child of the King. So the questions of how to reach the community will continue but the question of have we done everything in ourselves will be answered.