Today as I write, just beyond my office window, the fields and trees surrounding our cabin are wrapped in a fresh, beautiful blanket of snow.

In just a few months the snow will be gone. As springtime arrives, farmers will begin to plant their crops, in anticipation for yet another season, fall, and the time of harvest.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” In reality, our lives are made up of many varied seasons, each only one scene in God’s bigger script for our lives.

Today, we’ll examine five foundational truths about the seasons of life to help you make the most of whichever one you’re in.

Every Season is Different. 

Our current season is relatively simple. Milking cows, plowing snow, tussling with Wallace, and talking together are some of our favorite activities. Lord willing, our season will change in a few months as a fourth member joins our little tribe.

It’ll probably look much, much different in 20 or 30 years. But the foundations we lay today will greatly impact the life structure of tomorrow.

No Season is Without Purpose.

There are seasons of pain, seasons of joy, seasons of plenty and seasons of scarcity. Every season has its purpose, for in each one, God desires to shape and teach us. 

If we’re not careful, the hustle of life can obscure the purpose of the season. Whether you’re single or married, rich or poor, old or young, two questions are absolutely critical:

• What season am I in right now?
• What purpose does God have for me in this season?

Each Season Lays the Foundation for the Next.

As farmers, we observe this truth in a real way each year. If we failed to prepare the fields and plant the seeds, we would have no harvest, and the following season would be wasted.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What kingdom goals and priorities should I be working towards in the near future?
• What foundation am I laying right now?

Before you can start a business, you must establish proper work ethic. Before you marry, you should prepare spiritually and relationally. Planting character may seem like a little thing, but the results are huge, because as Galatians 6:7 reminds us, we always reap what we so. Additionally, we reap later than we sow, and we always reap more than we sow.

No One Season Lasts Forever.

Those who attempt to nostalgically remain forever in the past will miss God’s will for them in the future. So how do we strike a balance?

First, we should gratefully treasure the current season, knowing that it’ll soon be gone. At the same time, we must also keep growing and be sensitive to God’s direction.

The truth is, healthy things grow. To remain forever in the same season is to become stale and useless.

Each Season Must Be Redeemed.

So how can we make the most of whatever season we’re in? Every day, our duty is to glorify God in every area of life (I Corinthians 10:31). In order to do so, we must make the most of the opportunities God gives us, knowing that He will hold us accountable for how we used them (Matthew 25:14-31).

However, at the end of the day, we must realize that even our best efforts are worthless apart from God’s divine blessing. To paraphrase I Corinthians 3, we can plant, water, and till, but only God gives the harvest. Every good thing we enjoy comes from Him alone, undeservedly to us.

And while seasons change, we can be grateful that God never does. He is the same, “yesterday, today, and forever,” the fixed anchor amidst life’s peaceful weather and turbulent storms. In every season, we can trust His greater purpose and providence directing our lives.

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Question: How are you seeking to redeem your current life season for God’s glory?