Seasons

When the Season Is Slow to Change
Staying Rooted While You Wait
There is something interesting about the changing of seasons in Kansas. The calendar may say autumn is approaching, stores may already be filled with pumpkins and fall decorations, and you may even catch a cool morning that makes you think, “Fall is finally here!”
Then afternoon comes, and it’s 95 degrees. Sometimes it seems like summer simply refuses to leave.
Yet no matter how long the transition feels, the season eventually changes. The temperatures cool, the leaves begin turning, the days become shorter. What seemed delayed was happening all along, and life can feel much the same way.
There are seasons when we pray, believe, obey, and remain faithful, yet very little appears to be changing. We know what God has promised. We believe He is working. But when we look around, everything seems remarkably similar to yesterday.
It is during these slow-changing seasons that our roots become especially important.
Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17 that believers would be “rooted and grounded in love.” Roots are fascinating because their most important work happens where nobody can see it. While we are looking for visible change above the ground, God may be developing something beneath the surface.
That is why we cannot allow an unchanged environment to produce an unstable faith.
Colossians 2:6-7 reminds us about the importance of being rooted and built up in Him. Our confidence cannot depend upon how quickly circumstances change. God remains faithful whether the season changes tomorrow or months from now.
We must remain grounded in His Word. Jesus said that the person who hears His words and acts upon them is like someone who built a house upon a rock (Matthew 7:24–25). Seasons change, feelings change, circumstances change, the foundation (God) does not.
And we must remain grounded in fellowship with like-minded believers. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us not to neglect assembling together. Isolation can distort our perspective. When we have been staring at the same situation for too long, we need people around us who can remind us of what God has said, pray with us, encourage us, and strengthen our faith.
A tree does not uproot itself because autumn arrived later than expected, it stays planted.
Maybe you are in a season that seems slow to change. You thought the answer would have come by now. You expected the door to have opened. You believed circumstances would look different.
Don’t mistake slow change for no change, as God is working in places you cannot yet see.
Kansas summer eventually gives way to autumn. Green leaves eventually surrender to gold and crimson. Cooler winds eventually arrive. And the season that seemed determined to remain eventually gives way to something new, until then, stay planted. Stay grounded in God, stay grounded in His Word, stay connected to God’s people. You do not have to force the season to change. Your responsibility is to remain faithful while it does. When you cannot control the changing of the season, concentrate on the strengthening of your roots. Much love,

Pastor Michael Garner