I am in awe and wonder at what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Of course, I know this is only the beginning. There are more great things to come. Prior to this season, I was in a season where I was going through one trial and tribulation one right after the other and sometimes more than one running together. I was almost suffocated by pain, and now it’s almost the opposite. I am almost suffocated by excitement, but my expectation tells me there is more.
I learned the need for a greater level of discipline during each season. God allowed me to go through to prepare me to keep my eyes on him during the season of tests and trials, but also during the season of favor, I have to practice just as much discipline to keep my eyes on Jesus.
Things are going so well in my life that I have to be careful not to worship sort of speak or get my joy for life simply out of the season, but from my relationship with Jesus Christ. The truth is we need discipline in every season to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. Pain competes for our attention, and discipline helps us not to focus solely on the pain, but on the God who sustains us through the pain.
When we are undisciplined in dealing with pain, we begin to make self-destructive choices. When we are undisciplined in dealing with the joy of a season, we become lazy with making right choices and seeking God, and we likewise begin to make poor choices.
Again, discipline is necessary for both seasons. It’s like when you are riding a bike uphill, you have to exert more dedication, energy, and zeal in order to make it up the hill. This is the season of trials and tribulations. We are more careful to seek the Lord, fast and pray, uphold God’s commands, and speak the Word of God over our circumstance because we are desperate.
When we are riding a bike downhill, we don’t have to exert very much energy. Things fall into place. All is well. We can easily fall into seeking the Lord or not, reading God’s word or not, meditating on God’s commands or not. It can be more of a ‘Que Sera, Sera, which means whatever happens happens. We focus more on enjoying the moment than investing in the future. It is important to focus on enjoying the moment, but not to the neglect of our future.
During the good times, it is still needful to fast and pray and keep the flesh under submission to the discipline of God’s word. The investment in this area may not be the same as it was during the trial and tribulation season, but it should not go away. Understanding the need for discipline and the things the Lord allows in our lives to produce that discipline and character within us such as trials and tribulations; is a glorious thing to see. It produces a glory within us that points to God that is unmatched by anything else.
The type of glory produced in this lifestyle causes people to question who we are and what we’ve done. Others will want to know what the formula is, and it can be summed up in one word Jesus. Abiding in Christ, and learning to be disciplined in both seasons of life produces a person beautiful, refined, and full of the character of God. Thus, I encourage you not to lose yourself in either season rather trials and tribulations or seeing the goodness of God on display. Continue to offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable in both seasons of life.
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