Seasons In Our Lives

SEASONS IN OUR LIVES
The book of Ecclesiastes points out that there is a time (or season) for everything . This morning let’s look at this scripture and examine the importance of what it’s saying about our lives.

Today our subject for discussion is ... “seasons of our lives“.
What’s the purpose of today’s topic? our purpose today is three fold.
1. to define what a season is and how it is
significant to our lives.
2. to examine what happens when we miss a
season in our lives .
3. to examine what happens when we get ahead
of a season for our lives.

Our foundational scripture is Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 4. (it refers to times, which are seasons) .it reads..”to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up (harvest) that which is planted; “

Let’s look at seasons in nature to get a general idea of how seasons work.. in nature, things come forth, grow and fulfill their purpose and die. Notice that winter and spring are times of preparation. In the winter the ground gets very cold or freezes, which kills germs or bacteria that could be harmful to crops. Plants that have died, during the previous season, decay and help replenish nourishment the soil. Then as the late winter and early spring comes, the soil is plowed and made ready, seeds are planted, nurtured and grow... then in summer and fall, crops mature and are harvested. the farmers then sell the crops for money and use the money to support their families and enjoy the good things of life.

So, what is a season? For our purposes, a season in our life is a time frame that has been allotted for something to happen.
Again let me point out that God has so arranged it that things here in the earth and in our lives operate in seasons. We can depend on this because He tells us so in Genesis 8:22. The scripture reads...”While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest (seasons) and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” this scripture also gives us a basic description of seasons. We can gather from this scripture that seasons are basically divided into two types... seasons of seedtime (preparation) and seasons of harvest (reaping from what has been sewn during the season of seed time).
From our example we also know that during a season, things around us are orchestrated in such a manner that our efforts are supported.
Back to our example of the farmer.... his goal is to produce a large crop of something, sell it, and receive a lot of money for it. We see that he cannot however; get to the money until he properly goes through the seasons required to produce a crop to harvest. also , as he goes through each season, he must do the right things... (cultivate the soil , fertilize etc.) otherwise, he won’t successfully produce a crop that will bring him the money he desires.

So it is in our lives. when we desire to be successful, we must observe the seasons that we are to go through and perform properly (do the right thing) as we pass through each.
Here is a life example. a young high school graduate desires to live a successful life. as he stands looking toward the future, he is very much aware of the many options that face him. He could hang out with the home boys, chase women, get a job, or further his