Finding Next

Due Season

Eccl 3:11 (NKJV) “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Leviticus 26:4 (KJV) “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

Psalm 1:3 (KJV) “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Luke 1:20 (KJV) “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”

Ezekiel 34:26 (NKJV) “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.”

Galatians 6:9 (NKJV) “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Deuteronomy 28:12 (NKJV) “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.”

              The Scriptures above all imply that there is a specific season for good things to spring forth, to come into our possession. These hopeful scriptures inspire us so much that we tend to want to jump right to the due season part and skip over the other seasons that precede it.

              We all want dessert before we eat the vegetables served with our dinner. We want to imagine having the gold medal placed around our neck vs. the four or more years of training and sacrifice required to qualify and compete in the Olympics.

              “Due season” has been spoken about so much in the church that it has helped fuel the notion that we get a vision of due season, our place of fulfillment, and then we use our faith and just walk right into it. Gone is the notion of steps. Steps of preparation, refinement, and maturity. As a result, when we encounter anything other than fulfillment, completion or blessing, we get confused, and our faith falters. We get shaken because we don’t move right from a vision step A to a fulfillment step B. Under that move from A to B line of reasoning, what we are experiencing in our current season often doesn’t make sense.

              As it pertains to preparation for ministry or leadership, I believe there are seasons of preparation. I believe that within a season of preparation there are things that will happen that are designed to bring about the specific development and growth that God is seeking in our lives.

              The Bible says of Jesus’ 33 years, that “He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52, NIV).  Part of Jesus’ development was the temptation in the wilderness. Luke 4:13 (KJV) says, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”

              In preparation for our “Next,” there may also be seasons of following and learning, just as an apprentice follows and learns from a master craftsman. We see this development principle in the relationship between Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha and with Jesus and the disciples.

              Joshua served, followed and learned from Moses. The same was true with Elisha under Elijah and with the disciples under Jesus. We know Joshua, Elisha and the disciples had great seasons of powerful ministry and leadership after their seasons of preparation. The season which followed their season of preparation was the season in which they realized their fullest potential. I believe this is one of the instances the Bible is referring to when it says, “due season.”