God of all seasons

By Yvonne Tiony

We all live our lives following a certain script and with certain expectations. Most of us have a plan and expect God to follow and honor that plan. In fact, we have this plan in our mind or we write it done then tell God what to bless, how to do it and when to do it.

But this is just our human selves coming into play because more often than not our lives do not go according to our plan. Proverbs 19:21 says: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

We may plan but if we have surrendered our lives to Jesus, we have to allow Him to work in us and let His will be done in our lives.

It sounds easy but it is one of the hardest things to do as a believer. Most of us are struggling with one thing or another and we need God to intervene in a certain way and sometimes we are getting yes, no or wait answers. If it is yes we are happy, if it’s no we are disappointed and if it is wait we can become disgruntled or impatient.

Sometimes we also in our human nature decide to help God in order to get the answers we desire.

If we follow God’s will and desire for our lives we will find that we are living a life of significance and of purpose as compared to living for our own desires. God is our creator and when He created each of us He had a plan and purpose. That is why we are all unique in personality, gifts, talents and even physical features. We did not get to choose where we came from but even that was God’s plan.

God takes us through various seasons of our lives to teach us, correct us, care for us and even grow us to become whom He wants us to be. Growth mostly involves pain or discomfort of some sort. Just like when a tooth is growing in a child, there is pain but at the end a tooth comes out enabling the child to eat solid food.

God takes us through various seasons of our lives to teach us, correct us, care for us and even grow us to become whom He wants us to be.

We all have gone through different seasons in life but at the end, God is in control as long as we are surrendered to his will and ways.

When I got married, I knew it was the beginning of a wonderful chapter of my life. We were ready to face what the world would bring us head on. I used to work on a contractual basis in a Non-Governmental Organisation and was hoping that as time went by I would get a more permanent job. This did not happen and we then had a child.

As the baby grew older I desired to get back to work and started looking for opportunities but nothing came through. Another baby came and we now had two children.

By this time, I had started getting anxious as it is not easy financially to run a household with one income earner but God was faithful and provided for our needs. People in my circles were on the lookout for me but nothing fruitful came in. In fact the disappointments were now becoming normal.

I got used to the routine of home life, started a few businesses that did not succeed and even had a stint as a farmer but nothing really grew. I was now tired and frustrated and really sought God as what to do next as the children were older, one had already started school and the other was on the way to school. I felt I had more time to focus on other things but they were just not working. As I sought God I felt the call to join Christian ministry.

I had to hit reset and find out what that means and how to engage. I got to do a one year internship in a church to understand what I was getting into. The year went by fast and I learnt a lot.

I learnt that ministry and leadership is being a servant to people. As I waited for God to open ministry doors, I would still serve in church. As long as you fellowship in a church, serving should happen because then you get a front row seat on Gods working in people’s lives and get to use your gifts and talents for the glory of God. I now serve part time and I am very clear that this is where God has called me into in this season.

Let us learn to appreciate every season and find out what we need to learn in each season because there is always a lesson. We may also not understand at that time what the season is all about but God never wastes any experience and in good time we will get to know why.

I have been a stay at home mother for many years and served in church in various capacities and through it all I have experienced Gods provision, protection, mercies and received many miracles. There have been hard days but God has never forsaken me. He is a faithful God who will never fail you.

In Deuteronomy 31:8 ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”. Be encouraged, God loves you and wants the best for you always. He is with you in all the seasons of your life. As the saying goes, let go and let God.

Yvonne is a wife, mother, serves part time in church and is the author of ‘Raising Children Raising Hope: Essential Guide for Parents and Teachers’.