Day Six Of 8th Annual End Of Summer Fast & Detox: The Season

Lord, thank you. Thank you for these last six days. Thank you for meeting us in this stillness. God you’ve already done so much in these six days. Thank you for transforming lives, and renewing minds. Thank you for healing our hearts, and filling them with you. God, thank you for knowing our beginning and end. Thank you for the pieces together every part of our lives. Thank you for the time of suffering, because we know that it produces endurance. Lord we ask that you show us the work that we are supposed to be doing. Whatever it is that you have called us to do both now, and in the future. We ask that you give us strength and energy to get it done. Thank you for all the abilities you have given us. Where we are lacking in skill, help us to grow and improve. God, help us set our lives in order right now. Give us a submissive heart, set us free from our pasts. Wherever we made the past our homes, I pray that you would deliver us, heal us and redeem us from it. We don’t want to tie ourselves to the past. I know you want to do something new in our lives today. Help us to concentrate on where we are now and not where we’ve been. Release us from the past so we can move out of it and move to the future you have for us.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

I hope that you know, that I’ve been praying for each and every one of you that’s joining. We’ve tapped into the root, soil, seed, fruit, and field. Today, we are digging into the seasons. Trees go through four different seasons; winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each season brings something different for the tree. In the winter, trees are bare without any leaves, and seem as if they’re dying. Trees are preparing for the cold months ahead, without the leaves, they’re susceptible to the ice. During the winter, they get a scar tissue that prepares them for the cold months, and stops them from breaking with the cold temperatures. In the spring, new cells begin to open and new leaves begin to expand. Some trees, even produce flowers, in the spring. In the summer, trees grow their tallest. The flowers begin to fade away, and the fruit begins to appear on the tree. Trees are also their most intense green color during the summer months. In the fall, a trees leaves begin to change colors, and fall off. Not all trees lose their leaves in the fall, some of them just stop producing more. Winter, spring, summer, and fall are not only seasons for the trees, but correlate with us as well. The winter season for human beings symbolizes, endings, rest and reflections, and resilience. The spring season represents new beginnings, renewal and growth. The summer season represents joy, growth, fruition, and getting outside. The fall season represents change, abundance, balance, and moving forward. These seasons and their representations, are projected to as from childhood. Think about it: Typically in the fall students are going back to school so that is the change, and moving forward in grade level. Winter is at the end of the year, which ultimately symbolizes the ending as we prepare for a new year. We typically rest and reflect most in the winter. Spring is a new beginning because, “spring has sprung” and it hits all of us perfectly after the cold winter months. In the summer as children we are on break, so of course we are experiencing joy. On top of that, we experience different life seasons; whether that’s change, motherhood, new career opportunities, etc. Each season may look different for everybody. How one person handles a season, might look completely different for another. For example, how one person enters motherhood can look different for another. We have countless seasons, and changes that occur with our day-to-day lives. Some seasons we prepare for, and others are brought without any preparation. We are entering a new season, which is fall, but for some of us, we have a new season coming in life.

The Bible talks about seasons as well Ecclesiastics 3:1-8 says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.” King Solomon is telling us that there’s a time for everything. God has appointed specific seasons for all aspects of life. He’s sharing this so that we can accept and live through these seasons with faith in Gods plans. I love this scripture, because it proves to me that nothing is permanent. Seasons change, no matter how hard or tough they get. Trouble don’t last always. Our problem is, we get anxiety over what’s temporary. We have a tendency to look at certain circumstances as if they’re permanent when scripture tells us over and over that they’re not. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” Even in the tough seasons, you have to know that it’s for your good. I understand tough season, I’ve gone through plenty! I know it’s easier said than done, but you have to look beyond your current circumstances.

If you get caught in your current season, without looking beyond, you’ll find yourself in the same cycle. I watched the sermon from Pastor Dharius Daniel’s where he said, “How we manage the time determines if it’s a season or a cycle. It could be 11 days, but your attitude and emotions could make it 40 years. Wilderness experiences will come, but it doesn’t have to be wilderness wandering.” You know the story in the Bible of the Israelites where it was supposed to only take them 11 days, ended up taking them 40 years? The reality is, our unbelief could be holding captive, and extending our seasons too. Each season teaches us a lesson and until you learn the lesson, God will keep you in the season. You may be wondering why you can’t break out of your current circumstances, but it might be because you haven’t learned the lesson. It could even be your attitude towards your current season. I’m not saying that you’ll love every season that you go through, but you have to look at it with a mind of possibilities. A lot of people who started on the 11 day journey, didn’t make it to the promise land. Do you want to die in the current season that you’re in, never experiencing all that God has for you? Seasons are created and directed by God. They’re purposeful and passing, so why not embrace each one. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Seasons do not last forever. Think about it, no matter how much it snows, and how cold it gets in the winter, you know that in a couple months summer is coming. The same is true for the seasons that we go through. God is doing a new thing in each season. You can’t get caught up in your current circumstances that you forget what’s coming. So many times people want to skip the season that they’re in, and get the promise, but without suffering, you can’t get it. The way we handle one season directly impacts how we experience the season that follows.

So how can you maximize your season? Today, I want you to explore your current season. A couple days ago we wrote down lessons that pour current season is teaching us, go back to that list. To get the most of where you are, you must understand the characteristics of your season. Once you go through the list, I need you to take it to God in prayer. Ask God these three questions. 1. What lessons are you trying to teach me in this current season? 2. What actions do I need to be taking to prepare for the next season? 3. What is the plan you see for me moving forward? Understand that God might not show you the entire plan, but he might give you your next steps. Once you identify your current season that you’re in, if you’re willing, loop in someone close to you that you know has been through the same season. They can encourage you and give you wisdom for what steps to take. The reality is, God is in control, surrender yourself, your will, and your way and let Him lead you on this path of life.

Now, for those of you who are detoxing, I want to explore your current season too. We have a tendency to look for the next season, that we forget to be present in our current one. So many times, we are looking for the next thing, we forget, all that we have. I was so ready to graduate college, that I really didn’t take the time to appreciate each step. So many times, we forget that life is not a race, it’s a journey. Stop looking for the end, and fall in love with the ride. When you get to that next season, you’re going to look back at the journey it took you to get there. The high of reaching a goal doesn’t last very long. It’s the memory of the journey that stays with you. Health Today said, “Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack.” Today, I want you to write a list of 12 things that you’re grateful for in this present moment. This list will help you look at the glass half full, rather than half empty. Next, write down three positive things from this current season. No matter how tough a season may feel, there’s something to be grateful for. As we are evolving, there are things that we have that are positive, that we want to take with us into this next season. I hope this list encourages you. I hate to say it, but it’s true, “Things can always be worse.” 

Less than 24 hours left!