“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

— Ecclesiastes 3:1

In Part One of The Gift of a Season, we learned to recognize God’s gifts before they become memories. In Part Two, Stewarding the Gift, we considered how to faithfully care for what God has placed into our hands. But what happens when the season changes? For a while, I struggled with that question because I didn’t want a changing season to sound like loss—or as though God had removed a gift because we somehow failed. Then I realized: Sometimes a season changes because it accomplished exactly what it was meant to accomplish.

The seed grew. The lesson was learned. The person matured. The assignment was completed. The harvest came. And now it is time to move forward.

Seasons were created to change. Genesis 8:22 tells us that while the earth remains there will be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. Daniel 2:21 reminds us that God “changes the times and the seasons.” Winter doesn’t mean autumn failed. Harvest doesn’t mean seedtime was unsuccessful. Each season fulfills its purpose and prepares the way for another.

The same is true in our lives. Some seasons last years. Others seem to pass in moments. Some we wish would never end, while others we pray will end quickly. But a changing season doesn’t mean the previous one was wasted. Sometimes completion looks like change.

We must sometimes leave before we can enter. There is a pattern throughout Scripture: entering often requires leaving.

·        Abraham left what was familiar and obeyed God, “not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8).

·        As Israel prepared to cross the Jordan, Joshua told the people they were going somewhere they had never been before (Joshua 3:4).

·        And Isaiah 43:18–19 says: “Remember ye not the former things… Behold, I will do a new thing.”

That doesn’t mean we erase yesterday. It means we cannot live there.

Some things from the previous season should travel with us: Wisdom, love, lessons, testimony, gratitude & Christlike character. Other things need to remain behind: Fear, bitterness, regret, offense & old expectations.

Carry the fruit, not the season.

Think about driving a car. The windshield is much larger than the rearview mirror. We need both. The rearview mirror helps us remember where we’ve been, but imagine trying to drive forward if it were larger than the windshield. Look back enough to remember God’s faithfulness. But keep your greater vision pointed toward where He is leading.

Your resources may change, but your Source remains the same.  This may be one of the most important truths to carry into a new season: God is our Source. Everything else He uses is a resource.

Jobs change. People change. Opportunities change. Finances change. Our health may change, our methods change & assignments change. Israel experienced this in the wilderness. God was their Source, and manna was one way He provided for them. Then something interesting happened. Joshua 5:12 tells us that after Israel entered the Promised Land, the manna stopped. Did that mean God’s provision stopped? Absolutely not.

The resource changed because the season changed. God was still their Source. Sometimes we become so attached to how God provided yesterday that when the method changes, we wonder where He went. But God is not limited to yesterday’s manna.

The resource may change. The Source never does.

Enter the new season with a different spirit. Numbers 14:24 says Caleb had “another spirit” and followed God fully. Caleb saw the same giants everyone else saw. The difference was perspective. Others saw giants and said, “We can’t.” Caleb saw giants and remembered, “God can.”

That’s important when seasons change because new seasons often introduce challenges we’ve never faced before. “I’ve never done this.” “I don’t know how. “I’m not prepared.” “I’ve never been this way before.” Maybe not. But God has.

Instead of only asking God to remove the pressure, perhaps sometimes our prayer should be: “Father, increase my strength and capacity for where You are taking me.”

Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

God doesn’t always remove the mountain. Sometimes He strengthens the climber.

Release isn’t always loss. I learned this through a mentoring relationship that lasted for several years. I walked alongside someone through difficult circumstances, helping her develop confidence and greater independence. Eventually, the relationship changed. At first, I wondered whether I had done something wrong. Looking back, I can see it differently. Perhaps the season changed because the assignment had accomplished its purpose. She had grown. What had been poured into her now needed to be lived out by her. Her season changed—and therefore mine did too. That’s when I began to understand:

Release isn’t always loss. Sometimes release is graduation. 

Parents experience this when children leave home. Teachers experience it when students graduate. Mentors experience it when someone begins walking independently. Sometimes the evidence that we stewarded a gift well is that we can eventually open our hands and say: “Look what God has done.”

And this is where The Gift of a Season comes full circle. The gift doesn’t stop with us. What God develops in us during one season can flow through us into someone else’s. The wisdom goes with us. The compassion goes with us. The testimony goes with us. The love goes with us. Most importantly, the Christlikeness God formed within us goes with us.

Jesus said in John 12:24 that a grain of wheat must fall into the ground before it can produce much fruit.

And ultimately, Jesus demonstrated this Himself. The cross looked like an ending. The tomb looked final. Neither was. Jesus rose. The Holy Spirit came. The Gospel went forth. Lives were transformed. And generation after generation, the gift continued to multiply. What appeared to be an ending became a beginning. Perhaps that’s what God wants us to understand about our seasons too. Look Back With Gratitude. Look Forward With Faith.

Part One invited us to recognize the gift. Part Two challenged us to steward the gift. And Part Three reminds us to trust the Giver when the season changes. We don’t have to cling desperately to yesterday. We can harvest it. Carry its fruit. Thank God for what He accomplished. And then open our hands for whatever comes next. Because life is not simply a collection of unrelated seasons. It is one continuous invitation to become more like Christ. Every season in which Christ is formed in us becomes another opportunity for Christ to be revealed through us. And when that happens, the gift doesn’t end. It multiplies.

So when your season begins to change, perhaps don’t ask only: “What am I leaving behind?” Ask: “What am I carrying forward?” And then: “Father, where are You leading me next?”

Look back with gratitude. Look forward with faith. Carry the fruit, not the season. And step into what comes next knowing this: The resources may change, but your Source never will. God was faithful yesterday. God is faithful today. And wherever tomorrow leads…

He is already there.