Your life trail map

On every walking trail, there’s a big map showing the whole walk and a large arrow pointing to a spot, with the words, ‘you are here’. It gives you perspective and assists you in planning your walk. It also makes you aware of what to look out for along the way. Let’s use the same map idea for your life. If you examined your life right now, what season would you say you are currently experiencing? Are you in a dry season, a waiting-for-something season, a letting-go season, a building-up season, or a growing season? The list could go on and on. Maybe you’re in a happy, sweet life season, and all is well. Once you have the ‘you are here’ point that indicates your season on your life map, you can view this season from the perspective of your whole life walk, and you'll know what to look out for. Knowing the ‘you are here’ point in your season shows how you should move forward and gives direction on which way you should go. That means you can plan how to respond and prayerfully set in motion the changes and choices needed to move forward.

Timed listening in all seasons.

"There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth" Ecclesiastes 3:1 The Message. This gives you another perspective on the seasons dealt with in Ecclesiastes. Opportune times open opportunities. Finding the right time to take an action requires some preparation. And understanding the possibilities and potential in a season allows you to recognise the opportune moment to act. To do this, you need to be aware and ‘listen’ to what your life is telling you. Prayer is great here, but what if you can’t hear God right now or your life just feels barren and dry?

The desert is a place of aloneness where, in the wide, quiet places, you come face-to-face with yourself and your future. An inner test to let you find out what’s in your heart. These times can be challenging and humbling; it may mean a different, isolated or difficult environment. Dry times test your resilience, adaptability, and ability to flow and grow even when God seems silent, and your life seems fruitless and dry.

Dry places test the heart, but they’re also a time of experiencing God’s power, presence, amazing provision and the care of God, as we see in Deuteronomy 8:3-4. Like manna from heaven, a desert detour in your life may mean that you’ll be seeing miracles you have never seen before. Like clothing that never wears out, it may mean seeing your possessions miraculously maintained. Like walking hundreds of miles without pain, it may mean seeing new levels of endurance for success. The point is that by being obedient, we find out what it means to not live by bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3-5) – there’s a deeper level to walking with God, filled with wonder. It's not all hardship and lack. We also get to know God in new and amazing ways. And the desert times may mean that we will experience new ways of receiving provision from God. In this hot and dry place, you will develop a deep thirst that can only be quenched by the Spirit. The desert only lasts a season and is a doorway into a new dimension. When you come out of the desert, you will enter into another phase of life you are prepared for and well able to master. What you take into this new phase is the deep, sure knowledge of and trust in a God who works in those desolate, isolated, and alone places and a clear knowledge of who and what you are. Expect great things.

Delay in the season you’re in.

This is not a nice one because none of us enjoys waiting. Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” There is a certain deep heart fire in delayed prayers that can very easily turn into frustration or a sense of hopelessness that can consume you.

We know from the story of Joseph in Exodus that God leverages waiting seasons to take you to something bigger and better. It’s learning to change your focus during the delay that will keep you from frustration and despair. Joseph used wisdom while he waited to step into his promised position of ruler by making himself useful in whatever circumstance he found himself in. As a result, he received promotions which taught him the leadership and planning skills he needed for his eventual promise fulfilment. He also used his gifts of dream interpretation and prophecy and grew them while he waited. In your time of waiting in a season, allow God to chisel away what isn’t needed and grow what is, so you’re ready for the great things ahead.

Nothing stays the same; it’s the nature of dynamic life. My book 'Living through the Seasons of Your Life' takes you on a journey through each of the seasons that you’ll experience in life, explores them, and discovers the power and wisdom of each season. Through real-life stories, you’ll find the lessons and growth points that will show that the seasons of your life are a gift - to grow, to discover yourself and the infinite abundance of God - in the good seasons and in the challenging ones. You’ll discover that each season has God's special empowerment for that season. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” It’s the life-wisdom for your ever-changing times and seasons as you live your life story. To read more, click the button below, and please use our free resources by subscribing.

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