If you live in Texas, you already know…
Summer does not politely make its entrance. It kicks the door open, turns the thermostat up, and then seemingly forgets to leave. This past month we had a stretch of days when the temperature climbed to around 109 degrees. Not that high as of recent, yet still brutally hot.
And listen, I don’t care how long you’ve lived here, 109 is just plain disrespectful. You walk outside and immediately regret it. The steering wheel is hot. The seat is hot. The air is hot. Even the breeze feels like somebody opened an oven door. And when you look at the forecast, there doesn’t appear to be much relief coming. More sunshine. More triple digits. More of the same.
But here’s the funny thing…
I have absolutely no concern that it will still be 109 degrees in December. None. I don’t need to see a cold front on today’s forecast to know that eventually this heat will break. Why? Because I know what season I’m in. And I know seasons change.
Maybe somebody needs this reminder today.
Because when life gets hard, we sometimes forget that the same thing is true.
When the Forecast Says More of the Same
There are seasons of life that feel like they have lasted entirely too long.
You’ve prayed.
You’ve waited.
You’ve adjusted.
You’ve tried to be faithful.
You’ve told yourself, God is working.
And yet, when you look around, everything seems to say:
More waiting.
More stretching.
More uncertainty.
More pruning.
More becoming.
And after a while, even growth can hurt. Jesus tells us in John 15 that God prunes branches that are already producing fruit so they can become even more fruitful.
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
John 15:2, NIV
Did you catch that? Pruning isn’t always evidence that something is wrong. Sometimes you are being cut because something is right. God may be removing what cannot go where He is taking you. Sometimes He is reducing your dependence on things that once made you comfortable. He is exposing places in you that need healing, strengthening, surrendering, or simply growing up.
And none of that feels particularly wonderful while it is happening.
But This Is Only a Season
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV
A season.
Not a permanent address.
That distinction matters.
Because when something has been difficult for a long time, we can begin to believe that this is how life is going to be. We start building permanent conclusions around temporary circumstances. We play the maybe game in our head:
Maybe it will always be this hard.
Maybe this door will never open.
Maybe I’ll always feel this unsettled.
Maybe I’m never going to understand why God allowed this.
But you don’t know that. You are looking at today’s forecast and trying to predict December. And God has already seen your entire lifetime. There is an end to this season. That doesn’t mean everything will end exactly the way you want it to. Sometimes the change comes because God changes the circumstance. Other times, the circumstance remains for a while and God changes us so deeply that we no longer enter it as the person we were before.
Either way, seasons do what seasons do. They transition.
Don’t Waste the Heat
This is probably the hard part. If we’re going to be here for a minute, we might as well ask God what He intends to produce here.
Not just:
God, when are You getting me out?
But also:
God, what are You trying to get into me before I leave?
Wisdom? Patience? Discernment? Courage? Better boundaries? A deeper prayer life? Freedom from needing everybody’s approval? Enough confidence in Him that you no longer panic every time the forecast doesn’t look favorable?
Because there are some things that can only be developed in the heat. And Scripture gives us this promise:
“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”
1 Peter 5:10, NLT
After a little while… I know. Some of our (I am right there with you) “little whiles” have felt mighty long. His promise still stands. So, if you’re walking through a season right now that feels like Texas in the summertime—hot, relentless, uncomfortable, and showing absolutely no signs of letting up—don’t let today’s forecast convince you that today’s conditions are permanent.
You may not see the relief yet…That does not mean relief isn’t coming.
You may not understand the pruning yet; that does not mean God isn’t producing something through it. You may not recognize yourself in this season…Maybe that’s because you’re not supposed to leave it as the same person who entered it.
Keep going.
Stay close to the LORD.
Let Him do the work.
And remember…
It won’t always be 109 degrees.
And it won’t always feel like this either.
That’s life right now…
#CestLaVieRN #Encouragements #Season #Growth #Jesus #God #Christianity #FaithJourney
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