Episode 88: Hearing God in various seasons of life

Aug 17, 2025 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

In life, we experience not only the weather seasons but also metaphorical seasons, such as dry and barren seasons, the waiting season, the busy season, a season of celebration, or a season of spiritual warfare, among others. No season is perfect. Each season has its unique problems. The way we handle one season profoundly impacts how we experience the seasons that follow. Seasons are not a punishment from God. Instead, they are a time of preparation and growth. Our attitude is so crucial in the season we are currently in. There are certain things we have no control over, but by doing the right thing in our current season and maintaining the correct attitude towards it, we can prepare for the next season and thrive, regardless of which season we find ourselves in. Join us as we explore how to hear God in various seasons of life.

Episode Notes:

Introduction to seasons:

  • I wonder how often we’ve grumbled throughout our lives about the current season we’re in. “I can’t wait for this season to end.”
  • It can be especially prevalent when raising kids “Once they sleep through the night, once they’re out of nappies, once…”
  • It can happen, especially when it is either a particularly busy season and we feel pulled in too many directions, or during a season of dryness and feeling that God is far away.
  • If it is a particularly challenging season, it can be easy to take our eyes off God and onto our circumstances. I’m guilty of that.
  • Unfortunately, or fortunately, every season has its own set of challenges, as well as great times and joy. The key is not found in changing seasons but in whom we fix our eyes on. Hebrews 12:2 The Message version says, Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Richard Blackaby: The Seasons of God: How the Shifting Patterns of Your Life Reveal His Purposes for You – it’s a book about timing and being free to enjoy which season you’re in. Blackaby summarises his observations about timing in a chapter entitled “Ten Laws of the Seasons of Life.” These laws are:

  1. Each of us experiences repeated cycles in life that are profoundly mirrored in the seasons we see in nature.
  2. These seasons are more than simply a metaphor for aging.
  3. Each season is unique and adds important dimensions to life.
  4. Our seasons follow a set order.
  5. Our seasons vary in length and intensity—and in what they require from us.
  6. The way we handle one season profoundly impacts how we experience the seasons that follow.
  7. We can—and often do—fail to recognize and understand our particular season.
  8. Understanding our seasons of life requires a vital, open, trusting relationship with God.
  9. We experience different seasons in different aspects of our lives.
  10. We are meant to thrive in every season.

The last point is critical—thriving is God’s will for our lives, and his guidance is the key to making the most of each season

Natural seasons and their unique characteristics:

Cooperating with natural seasons was central to the life of ancient Israel. Natural seasons enable the growth of natural harvests. Spiritual seasons, on the other hand, enable growth and maturity in individuals, churches and nations. There are four natural seasons, each with its unique characteristics and responses.

As an Australian and having grown up on a farm, I view the seasons as:

  • Spring – planting, promise, possibilities and potential. Lots of growth and busyness.
  • Summer – maturation and harvest. Hard work but fun. Stocking up for winter.
  • Autumn/fall – a bit of harvest but a lot of dying off, winding down and getting ready for the winter. Enjoying the fruits of summer’s labour.
  • Winter – cold, hard time of ploughing, trudging through without seeing any reward for your effort, staying the course despite. Transitions and endings.
  • Problems arise when we are impatient for the next season or refuse to let go of the previous one. Getting stuck in a particularly happy season or a particularly sad season seems to be a pattern repeated in many unhappy lives.
  • Each season impacts our identity, relationships, roles, and faith.

First Principle: God created seasons.

  • Seasons are purposeful. God is accomplishing His divine purposes, even though we may not understand them. Every season in our lives has a purpose.
  • Genesis 8:22 “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
  • Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has made everything beautiful in His time and for everything there is a season.”
  • Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate,  a time for war and a time for peace.”
  • Solomon was speaking on the importance of proper timing. God loves order.  We see it in how the sun rises and the moon fades.  We see it in how our physical seasons change.
  • He has established a time and place for every event that occurs on this earth.  Our problem is that sometimes, we try to rush it.
  • Each season of your life is important and has been ordained by God.  Each one He has given a purpose as He moulds and guides you into the woman or man that He has called you to be.
  • Seasons are not permanent, and until God intervenes, the cycle will continue to repeat. The season in which you now find yourself will soon pass. It will not last forever.
  • Understanding that our seasons are passing, providential, and purposeful is valuable; however what we do in those seasons is of even greater importance.

Second Principle: Fix your eyes on Jesus and embrace your current season

  • God has a purpose for every season we go through.
  • No matter which season you are in, God is using this time to develop you into the person he has called you to be. Listen to His voice. Look for the lessons he wants to teach you.
  • Sometimes, seasons don’t correlate with the natural seasons, but rather with other descriptions.
    • A dry or barren season when God appears quiet and you don’t seem to be able to hear His voice or sense His presence. God may seem distant. This is an invitation to press in close despite our feelings. (Like the train – engine is fact, faith and feelings are the carriages.) Continue reading the Bible. God hasn’t left you. He hasn’t moved away. It may be that you’re walking through a difficult time, in a rut, or maybe sin or disobedience has entered.
    • The Waiting season. Psalm 37:7 “Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Easier said than done. Whether waiting for a baby, a life partner, etc. Abraham and Sarah waited years for a baby. It is interesting to note that when Abraham finally cut his nephew Lot loose, Sarah immediately became pregnant. Another example from the Bible was Joseph – waiting for the promise. Sold into slavery. Falsely accused. Imprisoned. What he went through in the meantime. Learning to wait well.
    • The busy season. Often with little kids or with hectic work schedule. Feeling like you don’t have enough time. Important to fix our eyes on Jesus
    • A season of spiritual warfare – feeling constantly attacked spiritually. Perhaps read Job. In the 1st world, we often don’t understand persecution and the Christian life and what we are called to as a Christian. Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.“
    • A season of ease and everything seemingly going well. Celebrate.
  • God is with you in each and every season. Practice gratitude in every season.
  • Be faithful to God in every season. Draw close to Him. Get stuck into reading the Bible. Look for ways to get His Word inside you – audio Bible etc.
  • Don’t shortchange yourself by wishing your current season to end. We can want our circumstances to change and grumble about our current situation.
  • The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because they failed to learn the lessons God had for them in trust and obedience.
  • Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.“
  • No season is perfect. Each has its unique problems. The way we handle one season profoundly impacts how we experience the seasons that follow.
  • Ask God:
    • What lessons are you teaching me?
    • What actions do I need to be taking?
    • What should be my plan moving forward?
  • Waiting in your current season can be challenging, and while you feel unsure as to whether that thing will ever happen, it’s good to remember that these seasons are not God’s punishment. Instead, they are a time of preparation and growth.
  • Isaiah 40:31: “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
  • Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the lord!”
  • I love how this verse encourages you to view waiting as an opportunity to draw closer to God and allow Him to renew your strength.

Third Principle: Learn from your current season

  • Know your season and the provision it brings.
  • God is prophetic. He is a forward-thinking God. Each season prepares us for the next one. Provision for present situations is given in previous seasons.
  • This was true of Israel as they possessed the Promised Land.
  • You can’t manipulate times and seasons. They are God’s domain. You can merely discern the season and live in it. Some seasons are short. Some seasons are long. When you are anxious for a God appointed season to shift, you stop living fully in that season. There are treasures to discover in the season that you are in.
  • Make a decision to live in that season.

How to determine your spiritual season with God, and does it really matter?

There are seasons in the physical realm, and there are seasons in the spiritual realm, but the two will not always align.  Does it really matter?

I think it’s more crucial to be where God wants you to be and leaning in close to Him and hearing God where you’re at.

Summary:

  1. God created seasons.
  2. Fix your eyes on Jesus and embrace your current season
  3. Learn from your current season.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, what would You love me to let go of in this season?”
  • “God, what would You love to give me in this season?”

Time Stamps:

[0:46] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:57] – Introduction to the seasons in our life.

[8:00] – Brief introduction of Richard Blackaby’s book “The Seasons of God”.

[10:32] – Natural seasons and their unique characteristics.

[14:23] – First principle: God created seasons.

[18:04] – Second Principle: Fix your eyes on Jesus and embrace your current season.

[25:47] – Third Principle: Learn from your current season.

[26:42] – How to determine your spiritual season with God.

[27:42] – Summary

[28:04] – Prophetic activation.

[28:59] – Gary & Jane both share a prophetic word for a listener.

[30:30] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned and also those about Seasons:

  • Hebrews 12:2 – Keep (fix) your eyes on Jesus.
  • Genesis 8:22 – As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
  • Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate,  a time for war and a time for peace.
  • Ecclesiastes 3:11 – God has made everything beautiful in His time and for everything there is a season.
  • Psalm 37:7 – Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
  • Ephesians 6:10-12 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
  • Galatians 6:9 – Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
  • Isaiah 40:31 – Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
  • Psalm 27:14 – Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
  • Genesis 1:14 – And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.
  • Psalm 74:17 – It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
  • Zechariah 10:1 – Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.
  • Matthew 24:32 – Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
  • Psalm 104:19 – He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
  • Jeremiah 8:7 – Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
  • Acts 14:17 – Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
  • James 5:7 – Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
  • Song of Solomon 2:11-12 – See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
  • Daniel 2:21 – He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
  • Joel 2:23 – Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
  • Luke 21:30 – When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.
  • Psalm 1:3 – That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

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