God's Faithfulness in the Seasons of Life

As the leaves turn from lush green to vibrant gold, deep crimson, and vivid orange, I find myself reflecting on God's faithfulness. Through all the seasons of our lives, the Lord remains unchanging. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful.

Our Lives Go Through Seasons

Every life begins with untold promise. Some lives experience smooth sailing in the early years, untouched by the trauma of sudden loss, emotional pain, or physical abuse. Others set sail on stormy seas early, struggling with the waves of poverty, loss, and suffering. No matter how life begins, every person will experience both seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow.

The teen years can be a walk through landmines or a stroll through a botanical garden. Likewise, the young adult years can be filled with joy and confidence or fraught with timidity and fear. Even Christian teens and young adults sometimes struggle to find their way in a culture that pulls them away from Scriptural values.

The spring of new love is a wonderful season filled with expectation and excitement. As that love grows to maturity the excitement may turn to a summer of peaceful contentment. Marriages go through difficult seasons where the struggles of life either draw two people closer to each other or drive them apart. Sometimes they end in a bitter winter of divorce. Other times the death of a spouse brings a lifetime of shared love to a close.

Similarly, the parenting years begin with the springtime hope that new life inevitably brings. The early years pass with a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration for many parents. Then the school years offer the opportunity to create lifelong memories that will fill the heart long after the sounds of children's laughter are gone. Parents may experience a wonderful mix of pride and frustration as children become teenagers and young adults, followed by aching loss when they leave the nest.

Sometimes we think of older adults as being in the fall or winter of their lives. However, this thinking fails to take into account the new opportunities to volunteer and serve others, to experience love, to travel, and to find fulfillment that senior citizens enjoy.

God’s Faithfulness Covers Every Season of Life

The covenant faithfulness of God extends to every moment that we live and breathe. His mercy and grace support us in difficult moments, and His Spirit comforts us in times of suffering and loss. The teacher who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes understood the rhythms of life. In chapter 3, he wrote about all the seasons of life from birth to death and everything in between.

In 1923 a Methodist minister named Thomas Chisholm penned these words as he contemplated God’s loving faithfulness throughout the seasons of life and in all creation:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee,

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou has been Thou forever will be.

Great is the faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

When we live a life of belief in the Savior, we can be assured that the One who spoke peace to the wind and calmed the sea will speak peace to even the most tumultuous seasons of our lives. Among the many benefits we enjoy as Christ-followers is the presence of God in every season of life we experience.

Throughout the varied seasons of his life, Moses encountered the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. At the end of his life he challenged Joshua to be strong and courageous, reminding him not once, but twice, in Deuteronomy 31:6-8 that God “will never leave you or forsake you.” The author of Hebrews repeats these words in 13:5 where he admonishes us to be content with what we have. Regardless of what season you find yourself in, God’s promise to be with you stands firm.

How have you experienced His faithfulness through the seasons of your life? Leave a comment to share your story.