Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days, and years.They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened. Genesis 1:13-15
Life is full of transitions. I’ve watched many sunrises and sunsets, marveling at their beauty and majesty. I would miss it all if the transition between night and day was simply a flip of a switch, similar to what I experience when I walk in or out of a room in my house and turn a light on or off. I would miss vibrant colors that cannot be seen any other time of the day except during the transitions of sunrises and sunsets. I’d miss the anticipation of a new day as I begin in the dark but see a hint of light in the eastern sky. I’d miss the reminder of the pending darkness near the end of the day, when I know I must finish an outside task before I need a flashlight.
Despite being a morning person, I remember some mornings I wasn’t excited to see the sun rise. I also remember many days I didn’t want the sun to set. The transition period was almost painful, because I wasn’t particularly thrilled with what was coming next. Perhaps it would have been easier to have the lights come on or off all at once. No, I don’t think so. Temporary blindness doesn’t sound appealing either. The transition between light and dark allows for adjustment. Transition also invites choice:
To be sad something is passing.
To be anticipatory something is coming.
To celebrate the completion of progress of something.
To dread something is coming.
God created seasons, and each season has benefits. Each season involves potential for growth. Each season also includes potential for decline and decay – which can eventually be used for growth.
When have you experienced a death or loss that you later saw an area of growth spring forth?
How can a loss of innocence lead to growth?
Loss of a favorite hobby?
Loss of a relationship?
Loss of material possessions?
Loss of pride?
Loss of satisfaction?
Loss of doubt?
Loss of fear?
Loss of faith?
Loss of control?
Growing up on a farm, I had many pets. I experienced loss numerous times. Sometimes the deaths were sudden. Some were expected. Several were tragic and traumatic. I felt each one with a sharpness, a cold sting of reality. As I’ve experienced other losses throughout my life, the pain is still present and often raw, but I look back on my experiences of life and death on the family farm, and I know they prepared me in some ways to deal with the inevitability of death. Some of the deaths of people in my life have been sudden, some expected, some tragic and traumatic. My earlier experiences on the farm paved the way for an appreciation for life. I rarely take life for granted. I know people can fight long battles of excruciating cancer or lose life in an instant because of a drunk driver. I also know death is yet another sunset, yielding another season that will last for eternity. In fact, life here on earth, comprised of many spiritual seasons of life, is really just one season in preparation for another.
As we work through the spiritual seasons of our lives, may we always widen our vision to take in as much of God’s perspective as we can. That’s why we study God’s Word. That’s why we seek his will. That’s why we yield in obedience. God understands the sunrises and sunsets of our lives. Even in the midst of our experiences and our longings to understand, our comprehension will be limited. When we strive to understand our seasons outside of the context of God’s plan, we try to put together pieces of puzzle with no box as a reference point. Putting together the puzzle is difficult anyway, but without studying and regularly glimpsing at what the big picture is, we will be less effective and more distracted.
As challenging as it is, let’s savor what God has for us.
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Susan, I liked your analogy of the puzzle pieces. I had a couple of old jigsaw puzzles that were among the first widely distributed. There were no pictures on the boxes and, rather than locking together like today’s puzzles do, the pieces just sat next to each other. The irregular shapes made it difficult to even figure out which were the edge pieces. I think our lives our like that. We can’t always see the big picture even if we believe there is one and pieces don’t snap into place. They have to sit next to each other before we can start to see the pattern emerge and sometimes things seem to fit until you start getting more pieces and you realize what you thought was true makes no sense. It is a good thing we have God to rely on. He always sees the big picture and we just have to rely on him and believe that “all things work together” even if we can’t see how just yet.
Great illustration! I definitely think we want to hear that firm “click” of pieces…when that’s not the way the pieces of our lives are designed. There have been times in my life that I have even tried to pound two pieces together that were never designed to fit!
It is strengthening to me to realize that other women also struggle with patience in walking with
Christ, not having control or even knowing what lies ahead. It encourages me to be content with
uncertainty and know that I am not alone. Thank you for sharing – the puzzle sounds like a real
challenge to patience and perseverance!
Keep taking one step at a time, Ruth! You are NOT alone!
God continues to amaze me in how he places things before me just when He knows I need them most. Somewhat like that piece of puzzle you have searched and searched for, only to find that it has been right under your nose all the time. These words about loss leading to something new define exactly where I am. I have been struggling with taking the steps necessary to leave this place of ministry in order to be open to a future unknown to me. It seemed so easy when this decision was first made months ago, but now that I have to put things on paper and meet people face to face with the news of leaving, it’s not easy. I’ve had to keep these plans secret, according to our church’s process, and that has been terribly stressful. It would have been easier if this could have been handled like a light switch. But you are right, the moments between the sunrise and sunset, and then back to the sunrise are necessary. God never said life would be easy, but he did promise to be with us along the way. Since he promises to live through every moment with me, I’ll trust that and strive to live through every moment with him.
I am so thankful for God’s timing, BJ. Even as I work back through this study after having it written for months, God continues to reveal himself to me, inviting me into his illuminating truth by which to see my situations today!
This lesson reminds me of something I have kept in my bible for years. It was written by Vance Havner, “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume….it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.
Thanks for sharing, Betty. I’m going to share it on the Pure Purpose Facebook page!