Seasons

I’ve written about this before, but today at church our Pastor Steve was talking about a conversation he had at a breakfast with Bill Johnson. Bill asked him how he was handling work and being the senior leader of a church. Steve was talking about how things at work had been so easy for a time, but didn’t seem to be that easy now. Bill then began to tell Steve that it was just a different season, and that God had us in different seasons and it was up to us to discern what season we were in.

That just makes so much sense to me. It also explains that why for some months something works great and then all of a sudden it doesn’t work at all. Me, and my finite engineering mind always look for a formula. If something works well for a month, it ought to work well all of the time. That might be the way it is with man, but certainly not with God. It seems to me that God goes out of His way to make sure we can’t use a formula. I believe it is because He wants us to constantly come to Him for answers to our questions. If we found formulas that worked, then we wouldn’t need Him. He wants to commune with us. And will find ways to draw us near to His presence.

Right now, for me, most of my quiet time is in worship, or asking Him question. He loves for me to set as His feet. Jesus was called Rabbi for a reason. He loved to teach. I believe that we all have an opportunity to sit at His feet and go the school of the Spirit. Sure, I love the Bethel Atlanta School of Supernatural Ministry. But in reality, all we do is to teach people to connect with Him as sons and daughters of a King instead of slaves. Once we know who we are, we have access to things that were locked away before. That’s why the first year of the school is really all about identity; His and ours.

So here is the question for tonight. What season are you in with Papa. Are you in a season of receiving, where everything you need is just given to you. If you are, enjoy it. More than likely it won’t last. Sooner or later you will enter a season of contending in the Spirit for the things that are yours. But that is not bad either because it teaches us to press into Him in a deeper way. The good news about contending is that it is not warfare against the devil and his demons. It is really a pressing in to Him, crying out, declaring and decreeing what is ours and calling for a release from the heavenly realm. We don’t’ focus on the enemy, we always keep our focus on Him. It’s His love that draws us, either to contend or receive. It is always about intimacy. What season are you in? Are you contending for something? Press into Him and the doorway will be opened.