Seasons!

It’s kind of funny in that during the summer months in our neighborhood, it is quite a bit louder outside after dark than it is during the day!  I can remember the exact opposite being true in most other neighborhoods that we have lived in over the years.  One in particular stands out.  When we moved from our home just north of town while living in Santa Rosa, California back in the mid 1990’s, we rented a really cute home in a very nice area in western Santa Rosa.  The only downside to the home was that it was only a couple houses down from a major thoroughfare that connected our city with the communities on the way to the coast.

Then, to make matter worse, right after we moved in they began to do some major reconstruction and widening work on the roadway which lasted about a year.  So for that whole season we had to keep the majority of our windows closed during the day due to the noise of the heavy equipment and the clouds of dust that they generated.  The only respite we enjoyed was in the evenings and on weekends!

In our country setting out here, it is quite a different story.  Days are usually quiet with the calm only broken by the occasional lawn tractor or barking dog.  But at night… well, while it is quiet and serene when the weather cools in late fall and winter, every cricket, singing frog, chattering squirrels, and who knows what else seem to join the menagerie of sounds that emanate from our pond, flowerbeds and the adjoining forested areas as the weather warms up.  And while we hardly hear any of the sounds within the walls of our well insulated house, as soon as I open the slider to take the dog out before bedtime the outside chorus quickly overcomes your senses!

I learned rather early in Fiver’s coming to be a part of our family that it’s best to keep him on a lease at night as he gets completely overwhelmed by the variety of noises and simply runs from fence to fence trying to figure it all out!  Now when we go out he does his thing and then just stands there like a statue staring off into the borders of our yard until I coax him to move and return with me into the quiet recesses of our home!

Since we have been here almost two years now, I am getting used to and expect to see the variety of critters, the blooms of the trees, the weather and the sounds of our area that tend to occur during the various seasons of the year.  And speaking of seasons… I was recounting to my wife last night as I prepared dinner, some of the many “miracles” that we have experienced in the midst of the difficulties we’ve been faced with concerning her health needs over the last ten years.

I was basing my thoughts around the scripture that I mentioned in our last blog from Isaiah 46:10.  Here the prophet of God is telling the children of Israel what God had promised them in the midst of their difficulties saying: “Declaring the end from the beginning… My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (English Standard Version)  I can’t help but get excited when I look back at ALL the things that God has done for us as we stepped out in faith to follow Him and His purpose for this situation in our lives.  And like I said in Friday’s post, while we had no idea of how He was going to accomplish His end purposes for us, we did know to simply keep an expectant eye of faith upon Him and obey each individual step that He told us to take along the way.

Then after I brought my laptop into the kitchen and opened up my Bible study program, I got really excited as I read aloud to Piper from the prophet’s concluding admonition a few verse down when he declared the Lord’s promise to them, “I am bringing the day of victory near--- it is not far away at all.  My triumph will not be delayed…” (Isaiah 46:13 Good News Bible)  You can imagine how excited that statement made us!  For that declaration is God’s intended END purpose for each of us!

So as we rejoiced in the kitchen I suddenly heard that voice on the inside of me quietly confirm our expectations by reciting Ecclesiastes 3:1 saying: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven.” (KJV)  And what purpose do you think that He is talking about?  It’s God’s END purpose that He has intended for all the situations in our lives that we have turned over by faith to Him!

Just like I know that it is going to get pretty loud in our backyard at night during the summer season, I can rest assured in knowing that in God’s season, His END purpose for us will come to past in His right time… and you know?  You can have that SAME assurance as well!  PTL!

So get ready!  Your season of victory is near, for God’s plan for triumph for you is just around the corner!

WHEW!  Now that is exciting… wouldn’t you agree!

Have a great week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I expecting the season of God’s END purpose for me to come?”