The Four Seasons of the Calendar<\\/h2>\\n I\\u2019ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately and how God controls the seasons.<\\/p>\\n The season of winter left months ago. Spring swung in on schedule, with rain drenching the ground and flowers blooming. God has set the four seasons in their places, marked upon the calendar as beginning in March, June, September, and December. Although they aren\\u2019t completely predictable in terms of the weather they usher in, each of these seasons can be counted on to relinquish their hold in due time.<\\/p>\\n

{"id":666,"date":"2024-05-22T19:24:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dreamingofjusticeandmercy\/?p=666"},"modified":"2024-05-22T19:24:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:24:05","slug":"god-controls-the-seasons-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dreamingofjusticeandmercy\/2024\/05\/god-controls-the-seasons-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"God Controls the Seasons of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

"Pictures <\/p>\n

The Four Seasons of the Calendar<\/h2>\n I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately and how God controls the seasons.<\/p>\n The season of winter left months ago. Spring swung in on schedule, with rain drenching the ground and flowers blooming. God has set the four seasons in their places, marked upon the calendar as beginning in March, June, September, and December. Although they aren\u2019t completely predictable in terms of the weather they usher in, each of these seasons can be counted on to relinquish their hold in due time.<\/p>\n

God Controls the Seasons of Life<\/h2>\n There are other seasons in life, however, that are not nearly so predictable. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, \u201cThere is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.\u201d Verses 2 through 8<\/a> then list a familiar series of such seasons.<\/p>\n Unpredictable seasons include:<\/p>\n \nRaising small children<\/li>\nCaring for old pets<\/li>\nDealing with aging parents<\/li>\nWatching adult children navigate a difficult world on their own<\/li>\nRecovering from an illness, or learning to live with a chronic illness that slows you down<\/li>\nStarting a new job with unfamiliar responsibilities<\/li>\nNavigating grief over the loss of a loved one<\/li>\nLooking toward retirement and wondering when it will be possible<\/li>\nWriting a regular blog, column, or newsletter<\/li>\nSeeking publication for a book<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \ Okay, maybe some of these are specific to me, but I suspect you all can relate to a similar season you have gone through or are wading through right now. The question of the day is \u201cWhen?\u201d When will the suffering you\u2019re enduring end? When will the thing you are hoping for happen? When will you find time to do the things expected of you when this season is filled with distractions and unexpected responsibilities?<\/p>\n God Is All-Knowing<\/h2>\n Even though we don\u2019t know the length and breadth of each season we go through, God does. He has a plan much more complex and perfect than we can understand.<\/p>\n Recently in Bible Study Fellowship, I was reminded of the seasons Jesus endured. In the season of His earthly ministry, the authorities sought to seize Him, \u201cbut no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come\u201d (John 7:30). Another time, upon realizing Jesus claimed to be equal with God, the authorities unsuccessfully tried to seize him. (John 10:39). But, when the season was right, Jesus willingly allowed them to arrest Him. John 18:1\u201313<\/a>.<\/p>\n God Controls My Current Season<\/h2>\n My current season involves a lot of uncertainty and change. And sadness and frustration and lack of focus. Which is why this is my first column since January. Such seasons make me appreciate grace and knowing God is in control of even this.<\/p>\n Jesus was in control of the fact that Peter and the disciples caught no fish all night just as much as He was in control of the miraculous catch of 153 fish. (See<\/em> John 21:1-14<\/a>). He is in control of it all and that is comforting.<\/p>\n How about you? What season are you in that seems like it will never end? Or perhaps you are looking forward to a season yet to come? I would love to hear about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Closing Prayer<\/span><\/h3>\n Heavenly Father,<\/strong> thank You for the comfort of knowing You are in control. I pray Your felt presence in the life of each person reading this article, that they would know You are with them no matter the season. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Four Seasons of the Calendar I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately and how God controls the seasons. The season of winter left months ago. Spring swung in on schedule, with rain drenching the ground and flowers blooming. God has set the four seasons in their places, marked upon the calendar as beginning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5097,"featured_media":663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,6],"tags":[279,197,66,282,276,261],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mercy","category-stories","tag-god-in-control","tag-jesus","tag-peace","tag-seasons","tag-sovereignty","tag-trust"],"yoast_head":"\nGod Controls the Seasons of Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately and how God controls the seasons, both the predictable four and uncertain life seasons.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dreamingofjusticeandmercy\/2024\/05\/god-controls-the-seasons-of-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God Controls the Seasons of Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately and how God controls the seasons, both the predictable four and uncertain life seasons.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dreamingofjusticeandmercy\/2024\/05\/god-controls-the-seasons-of-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dreaming of Justice & Mercy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T02:24:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1851\/2024\/05\/pixlr_20240522173326141.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"784\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"784\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda L. 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