What is your spiritual season?
What is your spiritual season?
Answer these simple questions and learn more about the spiritual season you're currently living.
Answer these simple questions and learn more about the spiritual season you're currently living.
What is your first impression of this photo based on how it made you feel....
Based on what you've been feeling and NOT what you think you should be doing, what activity would you be doing here?
The first thing you notice is:
In this scene, what activity best matches your mood lately?
In this picture, which answer do you most relate to emotionally and/or spiritually?
If here, what best describes what you'd you be doing based on how you feel and NOT based on your personality?
You come across a wooded path. Based on what you're feeling and NOT what you think you should do, you...
Winter
Winter
Your spiritual season is WINTER!
Your enthusiasm may be gone and in its place is a sense of sadness. Your heart may feel bruised. Most days, you are just blah as the world appears gray, as if life became this monotone palette--devoid of color. You begin to feel as if you're being crucified with Christ, in your soul. You may wonder where God is because your heavy heart can't sense His presence. You may have grown weary of evaluating yourself. Emotionally exhausted, you just want your brain to turn off and nap all the live-long day. Perhaps, you've recognized signs of grief. Things like hurtful gossip, broken relationships, rejection, or loss have taken their toll and exacted a price on your soul. Perhaps you've finally begun to allow in the pain so you can deal with it, even tho' it's a tiresome work. In spiritual winter, giving yourself permission to grieve is necessary. Being able to mourn your losses can lead to healing.
REMEMBER: The good news is, despite how barren it appears on the surface, this season of dormancy digs down into our roots, into our faith in Jesus. It's here that we grope for the hand of Him who holds us even though we may do it in utter darkness. We cling to the Cross in a desperation for God. And when we exit, we walked through it--by FAITH and not by sight. God was beside us, even though we felt blinded by a spiritual blizzard. He was there. Winters really do come to an end, even spiritual ones. And when the Spirit of God delivers us, winter will have sobered us and given us a desire to stay ever closer to Him.
SCRIPTURES FOR WINTER: Psalm 42, Zechariah 13:9, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 43
Spring
Spring
Your spiritual season is SPRING!
This is a time where hope has sprouted wings inside you. All the little things in life, those often taken for granted, are now viewed with a fresh appreciation. You spirit is stirred. There's an anticipation and hunger for what God is doing. You may be experiencing a flood of goodness. The sun seems to shine a bit brighter as your heart feels lighter. Optimism hangs in the air even though you can't exactly put your finger on why. You're in tune with what the Holy Spirit's saying even as you can't listen fast enough to all the wonderful things He is revealing.
REMEMBER: Seasons change. Savor this time for as long as you have it. Relish in the delight of each spiritual awakening. Lean into what God is showing you and be ready to walk it out in obedience. Be prepared for a spiritual autumn to come because it always does when we lay down our lives in obedient surrender.
SPRING SCRIPTURES: Psalm 24, Isaiah 40:21-26, Psalm 19:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17
Summer
Summer
Your spiritual season is SUMMER!
You're in a season of rest or of slowing your pace. You've come to a place where you've dropped tasks or where the busy-work has let up. Now's a time to recharge. Unlike a hard dormant winter season, this is a soft dormant where you're able to appreciate an easier cadence. Your spirit seems to relish in a type of sanctuary state. Stress or anxiety melts away. All the pressing things that seemed so urgent before, don't hold their weight now. A sabbatical mindset has taken hold of you and it seems that spending leisurely time on the porch, in a chair reading, or on a beach towel near water, is the most important thing to do.
REMEMBER: This is a much needed rest. Don't try to force yourself to do more than God is asking you to do during this time. Even in the resting, God's Spirit remains alive and active.
SUMMER SCRIPTURES: Hebrews 4:1, Psalm 16:9, Luke 5:16, Jeremiah 31:14, Mark 6:31
Autumn
Autumn
Your spiritual season is AUTUMN!
You've discovered things you've held on too tightly or a need to let go. This is a season where your thoughts begin to turn inward on yourself like a microscope. You may spend a good amount of time wrestling your emotions about laying something down or in surrendering it, whether it be with your view of yourself or an issue in your relationships. Your circle becomes smaller during this time. The number of people you trust has also dwindled. Being with loved ones has become all that more important. You may recognize God's refining process and the pruning happening in this season. Some moments may feel like passing through fire that's as vibrant red as the fall foliage of an Autumn Blaze maple. But in your spirit, you are feeling cleansed. And there’s a bitter-sweetness to it. You feel the deep workings of the Holy Spirit rooting out weeds in your heart. This can be both challenging and invigorating.
REMEMBER: God provides you with all the grace needed to overcome the obstacles before you. Be discerning between conviction and condemnation. Be prayerful and mindful of what you should come into agreement with, testing everything with God, His scripture, and with the Holy Spirit.
SCRIPTURES FOR AUTUMN: Psalm 51:6, Proverbs 4:11, Ephesians 4:22-24, Philippians 2:8