God Understands My Season

Seasons are part of the natural rhythm of life – necessary and important. Each season holds its own joys and its own trials. There is always opportunity to grow and to learn. Seasons shape us and change us. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that “there is a time for every matter under heaven“…. to mourn and dance, to keep and to throw away, to weep and laugh, to be born and to die. Seasons.

A phrase I hear frequently among moms of littles when discussing their struggle to spend time studying Scripture is “Thank goodness God understands the season I’m in.” Indeed raising small children is a unique and busy season. As a mom of four kiddos ages 1-9, I all too well understand this; however, this phrase has never set well with me.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it takes effort. Yes, we are busy. Yes, our homes are often loud and chaotic. But isn’t that all the MORE reason we need to press in to God, lean in to His Word, hear from our Creator, gather His wisdom, rely on His strength?!

For a while after having multiple kids, I would schedule perfect little nap times and gather my Bible study supplies to spend quality uninterrupted time studying, but things didn’t always go according to plan. There were other tasks to be done, kids would wake up or not sleep at all; and it would cause me so much frustration. I felt like if I couldn’t have my “ideal quiet time” then I couldn’t do it at all. Lies! Satan will feed us any lies he can to keep us from the Word. Our time in the Word may be more difficult to arrange or look different than we planned, but running into difficulty is not a reason to quit and throw our hands up in defeat. I imagine Satan thinking to himself, “Well, that was easy.” I don’t want to be that woman. As my blog title states, I want to be the kind of woman that when my feet hit the floor, the devil says “Oh no she’s up!”

Don’t have kids? Past the years of raising littles? You’re not off the hook either. This applies to all of us. We can all find ourselves using this same excuse in any season. The “busy building my career” season, the “summer break” season, “vacation” season, “not feeling well” season, “taking care of an ailing loved one” season, etc… Yes, God understands and is well aware of whatever season we are in, but nowhere in Scripture does He say “It’s ok if you ignore me just for this season. You don’t really need Me right now. You have other things to do. You’re busy.” It sounds silly when we put it that way, but essentially that’s what we’re saying when we say “It’s ok if I didn’t read my Bible this month. God understands my season.”

I recently started incorporating a study method called verse mapping into my Bible study time, and it has been so insightful. I began reading through the book of Acts, a couple chapters a day, and choosing a passage to “map.” This includes reading the passage in various versions, looking up the meaning in the original language, identifying the actions taking place, and writing a brief summary. The very first passage I mapped in this exercise was Acts 2:37-38. During Pentacost, several people in the crowd, upon hearing Peter preach the gospel, were “pierced to the heart” and asked Peter what they should do. Peter called on them to repent and be baptized. My takeaway from this was the conviction that as God’s Word and His Holy Spirit work in our lives to convict us or move us, we have a responsibility to TAKE ACTION. Reading the Bible isn’t just something we do to check off a box or make us feel better about life. The Bible is meant to point us to God and change us because of it.

I have been leading a women’s Bible study for over a year, and I have been involved in various studies, and groups over the years. I’ve found it’s kind of par for the course to take a break during the summer or during the holidays. While I understand and agree with less frequent meetings I was recently convicted that that’s not an excuse to neglect my own personal time with the Lord and studying His Word. It’s also not a time in which I should turn to a “fluff” study because it’s easy and less involved. After being convicted of this, I decided to move forward with my summer study reading a book about how to study your Bible and gain Bible literacy – which takes time and effort. Anything that is worth anything takes time and effort. If we truly want our time in the Word to be productive and life-changing then we have spend more than the obligatory 2 minutes reading a page from a devotional written by another human with a Bible verse attached.

A recent study was conducted about the effects of spending time in Scripture. The study showed that spending time in the Word 1-3 days a week showed no significant effect in changing behaviors or character. However, the data spiked dramatically for participants who spent 4 or more days in the Scripture. Things like anger dropped 32%, loneliness 30%, bitterness in relationships such as marriage 40%, alcoholism 57%, feeling spiritually stagnant 60%, and pornography 61%! What does that data show us? If we use the excuse of “God understands my season” to only spend minimal time once or twice a week in the Word (if that), then it really isn’t effecting change in our lives. And isn’t that what we want?

Yes, God understands your season, and BECAUSE He understands your season He has provided us with His Word where He “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3) His inspired Word is “beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) It is in the intentional study of His Word where we can seek His council, draw from His strength, and find grace to help in time of need. In it we can meet our Savior, learn from Him, and lean on Him.

Don’t use your season as an excuse to pull away from God, but as an opportunity to run toward Him. Any day, any time, any season, He is beckoning you to put the phone down, turn the tv off, find quiet moments or not-so-quiet moments and draw near to Him. You won’t ever be sorry you did.