As summer hits full-August-throttle, I’m reminded how thankful I am for seasons. As soon as it hits triple digits here in TX, the recent memories of spring with its new beginnings quickly fade, and the reality of the sweat, sunburns, and brown lawns set in! Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of a burger at a friend’s BBQ, the feeling of jumping into a cold pool, the victory dance on the 18th green after breaking 90… but when we’re on what feels like our 90th day of 90+ temps with 90% humidity, I can’t help but start to wish that fall would hurry up and arrive!

Isn’t this the same thing with our spiritual seasons?

We go through seasons of saturation in God’s presence, where our hearts are full and excited to worship the Lord, and then seasons of dryness where we feel like God’s far away. We go through seasons of trial and seasons of celebration. But no matter what the current season we’re in, we can fall into the trap of looking forward to the next season (you know, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence). This is especially the case in our seasons of dryness and trial. We even start to feel bad for ourselves, maybe even angry at God and end up missing the beauty that the current season holds. It’d almost be like if I were to complain that it was too hot to do anything, I’d miss out on the pool parties and summer sunsets!

Each season holds beauty, only some seasons you have to choose to look for it. 

Let me say that again, you have to choose to look for the beauty in each season.

James 1:2-4 says, “ Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Just as the calendar moves from one season into the next, so will our spiritual seasons change to the next. So this week, I challenge you to join me in assessing the spiritual season that you find yourself in, and then choose to be content in this season, looking for and discovering the beauty that God’s waiting for you to find!