There is a Season

" For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a season and time (which we rarely give ourselves) to sit in the wounds, pain and heartache of life. A time to notice all that is lost and missing and broken. A time in the wilderness of waiting and wanting and wondering why.

And, after the mourning, there is a time to look up and notice the new life that springs up, the beauty, the bounty. A time to notice the remains, the redemption, the rising. A time to acknowledge the provision, the protection, the purpose. A time to stand, to cross over to claim new ground.

I believe we often rush ourselves to express the joy and claim the victory without doing the hard work of trusting, mourning and fighting the battle. I think we rush to claim healing without actually allowing the wounds to be healed. I think we’ve been fooled into believing that God is only glorified in the good and we are uncomfortable with the idea that God is honored in our pain.

We think if we aren’t in the place of victory then we’ve failed or been abandoned. We think people who see their brokenness and heartache don’t also see God. We rush to the language of the overcomer because it’s much more comfortable than the language of lament.

But the truth is God is with us in both places. We are not alone in the wilderness no matter how dark and desolate the season may be. God does deep deep work there.

And God’s presence is not increased in times of victory and joy.

In fact , even when we cross over into the “promised land” it’s not all milk and honey. There are still battles to fight and walls to tear down. There are still giants to face and enemies to defeat.

It’s not either/or. It’s not good or hard. It’s both/and.

God is present in all of it and He is enough.

Lord, help us to not lose heart in the wilderness. Help us to see your work,

painful as it is, that will give us what we need to face all that is ahead.

Remind us of your unfailing love and help us to see your good gifts even in our hard places.

Lord, give us lips to praise you for who you are-no matter where we are.

#unimaginable #heisenough