Tis the Season | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

On yesterday morning, a good social media acquaintance of mine, Jamil Willis, posted the following status update on Facebook:

"Thought of the Day: If you're trying to figure out the relationships that are ordained by God, look for people who are in the same season as you.  If you can find people, with whom you are already in relationship, that have the same struggles and testimonies as you, it is likely that those are the relationships God wants to grow!  Those with whom I have made covenant are in a season just like mine! Consecrate the covenant!"

There are two reasons why I was so excited to read those words: (1) I had never before looked at relationships from this perspective and (2) it was in perfect agreement with the message John Ragsdale (Pastor, The Hills Fellowship | Nashville, TN) delivered the night before at the Surge Men's Conference at Covenant Church (Carrollton, TX).  (To download the message in its entirety on iTunes, click here.) During his insightful explaination of the process of stepping into the power of the Spirit, Pastor Ragsdale mentioned how our experience of frustration is GOD's way of testing our calling to see if we will submit to the seasons of our lives.  We've become good at submitting to people and leadership, but we struggle in submitting to the seasons, especially if it's not what or where we expected to be.

In considering what both of these anointed men had to say, I realized that, in submitting to the seasons of our lives, we must also discern which fellowships have been ordained by GOD for the respective seasons.  It is this discernment that keeps us soberminded by guiding us in our awareness and knowledge of the seasons and each season's fellowships.  We need to be both clear about and sensitive towards relationships needing to be cultivated for growth, developed through resource allocation (e.g. time, energy, finances), and downgraded (or even dissolved) as the seasons change.

So what then happens when the seasons aren't submitted to?  We end up going in circles, making no progress in fulfilling our callings.  And we can't even get angry at GOD for our lack of progress.  Until we decide to submit to the seasons of our lives and adjust our relationships to the seasons, we'll continue circling the same mountains and repeatedly facing the same relationship drama.  Therefore, tis the season for careful evaluation of our relationships to ensure they are consistent with the current seasons of our lives.  If they're not in agreement with the current season, then changes must be made--and made quickly--to maintain the momentum of our journey's progress.  Otherwise, we run the risk of wasting our resources to maintain fellowships our lives' seasons have doomed to fail in their current state.

My suggestion?  Submit to the season.  Covenant with those whose seasons mirror your own. Move forward.