Seasons Change, God Doesn’t

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back, football is coming, and it’s almost Fall—the best season of the year! With Fall basically here (weather, please stay cool) and a new school year starting, it reminds me that seasons change. Whether you’re listening to “All Things Together” by 10,000 Fathers (“You’re the first, You’re the last, You’re forever, You’re the one who brings spring out of winter”) or “Let the Ground Rest” by Chris Renzema (“God, He made four seasons and only one’s spring”), we see that God created change on purpose. Change can bring hope, but it can also bring worry. So, what do we do with all these new plans and unknowns?

God’s Plan is Best

With change and new plans, I’m encouraged by what God says in His Word: 

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21) Y’all, I can tell you that my life has looked nothing like I thought it would ten years ago, and honestly, praise God. We make all the plans, and that’s okay; my best friend loves to plan. I’m more of a day-by-day kind of girl, but we need both types of people, haha. We can make all the plans, and sometimes they don’t work out; yet we can be comforted that God’s purpose and His plan will always happen. We can’t mess that up. I am so thankful for this because I know that His plan for us, which is 100% going to happen, is the best plan for us. A plan for our GOOD and His glory. God’s plan for my life is never second best, and may the Lord have mercy on me when I forget that or on days when that is hard for me to believe.  

Seasons change, and I make plans, but I am thankful that God remains the same; He is in control.  

Walking into the Unknown

With lots of change, it’s easy to start thinking about the future. When God called Abraham, He said, “Go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1, ESV). Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he trusted God. How can we, like Abraham, follow God and take steps forward into the unknown? That is scary, trust me. I’ve been there, and unfortunately, I still feel like much of my life looks like walking into the unknown. While I wish the Lord could give me a play-by-play of the following year (or five or ten!), I know that not knowing causes me to lean into His Word, and it makes me trust and depend on Him alone. He is trustworthy and faithful. We go and we don’t go alone, He goes with us! (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God is God (and I Am Not)

Maybe you wonder, is God’s plan really best? Sometimes I try to tell God what I think would be better. When I need a reality check (which is often haha), I read Job 38-42. God reminds Job (and me) that He is God and I am not. Job 42 includes Job’s reply to the Lord, and he says, “I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” God is powerful, He is big, and He LOVES US! We get to have a personal relationship with Him! Thankfully, because of Jesus coming to Earth, living a perfect life, dying on the cross for our sins, and defeating death by coming back to life. Therefore, “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Which, if you know me, you know I have to make a plug for missions (If you don’t know me, let’s grab coffee). If you keep reading Romans 10, it says ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:13-15). We’ve got to go. In your schools, on mission trips, wherever the Lord leads you- share the gospel with the people around you. May people come to know Jesus because of your obedience in being sent and sharing the good news. 

Follow Jesus, Not Comparison

Just know that as we go, it’s easy to look around at other people and what their lives look like, and it’s easy to compare. Yet, I would encourage you, as I continually have to, to look at John 21:19-22. Jesus tells Peter, “Follow me.” Yet Peter looks around at another disciple and says, “Lord, what about Him?” This is what Jesus says, “What is that to you? You follow Me!” Comparison is so real in middle school, high school, and beyond. Comparing grades, friendships, sports, looks, vacations, and social media doesn’t help. We cannot compare our lives to others. Trust me, it isn’t helpful to us or them. Regardless of our questions, doubts, or what those around us are doing, beyond everything, we are to follow Jesus.

What now? 

Know that in the changes and when the future is unknown, God is in control. He is trustworthy and faithful, and His plan for you is always better, best, and enough.

 Ask yourself: What’s one plan I’ve been holding onto that I need to trust God with this year? Where are you tempted to compare—and how can you fix your eyes back on Jesus?

Ask the Lord today: Lord, what does following you look like for this school year?  

Who knows what following Him means for you? That’s for you and Him to work out, but BE ENCOURAGED!! Our God is not a God of confusion! We, as believers, have the Holy Spirit. He is faithful in our obedience.

May we stop saying “what about him” and instead say more of “I follow you, Jesus.”

Seasons change. Plans change. But God never does. His plan for us is better than ours, and His purpose for us will prevail. So let’s follow Him boldly this year.