- 1 Cor. 16:14
How many times have you attended a church service on New Year‟s Eve, and the pastor takes the date of the upcoming year and makes it rhyme with a word to express to the congregation how God is going to move for you in that new year? How many times, 364 days later, did you sit there disappointed and in tears because what the pastor promised in his little rhyming scheme came to pass for others, but not for you?
“God has more in store in 2004” or “God will come alive in 2005.” I have heard them all, and yes, like you, I believed some of them, and on New Year‟s Eve sat there heartbroken feeling like I had somehow disappointed God that year, or maybe He expected certain things from me, and my work was not up to par, so He withheld my blessing.
In one particular year, a lot of ministries came out with a slogan similar to “Blessings from Heaven in 2007.” That did not happen for everyone back then, and quite a few people were very disappointed. They were wondering and saying, “God, what did I do wrong?” “But, God I did everything the pastor said to do. I tithed above and beyond, I contributed to every offering, and I still did not receive the promise.” “Are you angry with me, God?” “Am I being punished?” “But, God . . . You said . . .” You are so distraught and upset leaving the Old Year, and that is no way to start the New Year.
As we approach a new year, I want to help you break out of that cycle of disappointment that people have put on you. I want to share with you something God told me. He said, “Daughter, it is not about years, it is about seasons. I move in Seasons.”
Let me confirm this message and back it up with scripture. Ecclesiastes 3 (NKJV) states the following:
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
Wonderful things happen in their “Season.” God knows when you are ready to handle the blessing you have asked Him for. I have known people that have come into large sums of money before their season, and they were not ready to handle it and it destroyed them, and their ministry.
You see, God is not a God of “Fiscal Year ended December 31.” I had someone prophesy over me one year who said that the things God promised me would happen by the end of the year. Well, December 31 came and went, and nothing happened. So, then I thought OK, maybe he meant 12 months from the day he prophesied, but that day came and went. Then I thought, maybe he meant the end of the Jewish calendar, and not the end of the Roman calendar of December 31. That was not it either.
I have to be honest and tell you that it has been 18 months, and that prophesy still has not manifested yet. However, God promised me that what was spoken was from Him and it would come to pass, but in His season, not man's. Human beings have a bad habit of forcing God to conform to the Roman calendar thinking all new things must start on January 1, and end on December 31. That is not how God works. God moves as He wills; not when man wills.
Let me clarify one thing so there is no confusion. When I talk about seasons, I am referring to each individual‟s season. In the case of a congregation as a whole, God will direct “an entire body” (i.e., a particular church) to experience a season as a whole entity.
The New Year is only a few weeks away, and I want you to cross over into it without the feelings of disappointment that you have had in prior years because of blessings that you were promised by a human being‟s rhyming scheme, and had not received yet. I want you to look forward to what God has for you. So, please do not look at the calendar, or the person standing next to you. Your individual season and walk with the Lord will be different from your friend‟s season.
You were designed by God (See Psalm 139) to fulfill a specific destiny. Your friend has his or her own destiny to fulfill. You will cross paths with people I will never meet. I will cross paths with people you will never meet. Your season will occur at a different time, and it may last longer than the seasons of your friends. Let me give you an example.
I am from the East Coast originally and every Memorial Weekend we would plant a vegetable garden. The first seeds we would plant were radish seeds and swiss chard seeds because we knew they would be mature and ready to eat on the 4th of July. Their season was short. We would plant all of the vegetable seeds that weekend, but we knew that the zucchini, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes would not be ripe until the middle or end of August. Their season to mature was longer. This same principle applies to people as well. Some people have a longer season to go through than others. That does not mean you are being punished by God because it is taking you longer. It means God wants to spend more time with you as you go through a certain part of your journey with Him.
Not only is the length of your season different, but where you are planted also determines your season. Back East we plant pansies in May. I live in California now; the seasons are different out here. In California, people plant their pansies in October. On the East Coast, in October, we have already had our first frost and there are no pansies left in the ground. God may have called you out and planted you in a dry place, a desert place, separating you from your friends so that He can pour into you things He knows you need to be successful when your season of separation is over. Your friends may be planted in a music ministry that has now been asked to travel around the country to perform. It may be your friend‟s season to travel and perform, but your season to sit at Jesus‟ feet and be still. It depends where God has planted you.
Whatever your season, stay focused. It accomplishes a few things: (1) when you are focused on where you are walking, you do not trip and fall as much, and your discernment becomes keener, and (2) keeping your eyes on God stops you from focusing on what your friend is doing. That keeps you from making the mistake of competing with the person, or worse yet, trying to copy their destiny as your own.
When I teach Sunday School there is a game I always play with the children. I create 4 rows of coins on the floor of different denominations. One row may consist of all pennies, another row may have 1 penny, 3 dimes, and 1 quarter, a third row may consist of 5 quarters. I then select two sets of 4 children and tell them to stand in the line of their choosing. Interestingly enough, I always have a situation where 2 or more children are standing in the same line that has the most money in it (you have to appreciate them for their honesty).
I then tell the first group of children in each row to take one step forward and reach down and pick up their blessing from God. The stepping forward part represents their walking out their destiny that God designed for them; the coin they pick up is their reward from God. I then tell them to take another step forward, and again, pick up their next blessing. After all the coins have been picked up, I tell the second set of children standing in line to step forward and reach for their blessing. The children will always say to me, “Hey, there are no coins left for me to pick up.” I explain to the students that when you follow someone else who is walking out their destiny, the blessings God had for that person have already been picked up by that person. It is important to stay on the path God has planned you to walk out in your own destiny, so you can receive the rewards God has already planned for you.
When you focus on trying to have the same season as your friend, you miss out on the blessings God has for you. No one has taken them; they are still there waiting for you to reach down and pick up. You just need to move in the season that God has created for you and you will receive your reward. Leviticus 26:3-5 (NKJV) reads:
If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
God goes on to say in Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (NKJV):
13 „And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then I[a] will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.‟
One of my favorite scriptures regarding seasons comes from the Book of Psalms 1:3:
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
If December 31 comes around and your friend got their blessing, and you still have not, do not be disappointed. God is in control of your season. Daniel said in Daniel 2:20, 21:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.”
Let me give you another example. It was Memorial Weekend and I had planted flowers on my balcony. It was a beautiful summer day, and I felt the rose bud should be fully opened. I did not wait for it to open in its season; instead I tried to force the bud open by peeling back the petals. In so doing, the bud broke off of the stem, and there was no longer a flower, not even a bud. At that moment, I felt the Lord telling me, “You cannot force something to be ready before its time.”
I know you may be anxious to see your season come to pass on or before December 31, but do not try to force it open ahead of its time. God does not have a deadline of December 31. Instead God has a promise that you will bear fruit in your season. Wait for it with great joy and expectation, for it will come.
As you cross over into this New Year, remember “It is about seasons, not years” and the cliché is “Ringing in the New Year,” not “Rhyming in the New Year.”
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries
P.O. Box 572391
Tarzana, CA 91357
Tel: (818) 881-2009
Toll-Free: (877) 303-CCBM (2009)
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries is a qualified IRS Section 501(c)(3) Organization