Although it seems we have been in the winter season for a couple months already, the calendar still says it is fall. It has been long since the leaves have fallen and we have bounced from big, wet, heavy snowfall to unseasonal rain showers, the temperature dipping to frigid temperatures only to rebound and be back up to double digits. This “fall” seems to have most of the seasons mixed in with it! Unfortunately, the physical seasons seem to get a bit mixed up at times and struggle to settle on the type of weather they should have. This year has been one of those years. My heart goes out to every struggling agricultural producer, whether farmer or rancher or connected industry. It has been an incredibly hard year.
I take heart, though, when I think of the spiritual seasons we pass through. The Word of God assures us “to everything there is a season.” Even though the seasons we face do not seem to be in line with what our ideal plan would be, we can rest assured that God is faithful and He will see us through every season. The book, “Rooted: The Hidden Places Where God Develops You” has been incredibly encouraging to me as I have walked through a difficult season in the past year. It has been a year of surprises, questions, inner searching, uncertainties and loss.
As I devoured this book, I was fully encouraged in that I could see that God was working in this season even when I did not necessarily feel it was the way I anticipated my life would go. It is critical that He builds a solid foundation on the inside of me and this generally happens in the hidden places. He desires to build a strong root system to prepare for the future. It is important that we pay attention to what God is showing us and teaching us in the present season we are in.
There are three types of soil that He develops us in: intimacy, serving and community. In the soil of intimacy, God desires for us to cultivate closeness with Him in the secret place. Everything comes out of that relationship we have developed with Him. “If this connection with Jesus is not developed in your life, your root system will never be healthy ...Everything you will ever need is found in the presence of God, for it is there you find the reason you were created.” (Branning Liebscher)
In the soil of serving, we serve out of the relationship we have with Jesus because we are ultimately serving Him when we serve others. He notices whatever it is we do; the concerted efforts we take to minister His love to others, whether it is to our friends and family, co-workers, neighbors, or those who can do nothing in return. It is an offering of love to Him as we serve others.
The final soil to put our roots down deep into is the soil of community. Here we learn the value and strength that comes from relationships. Isolation is a killer. We are made to connect. “Community is where we grow. We cannot live without it.” In our western culture, our tendency is to become independent and isolated however, “...it’s in community that we draw the grace needed to do what God has called us to do and to become the person God has called us to become.”
Be encouraged in whatever season you find yourself in. God is right there in those hidden places with you.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
