The Right Season
Stories
Contents
"The Right Season" by John Fitzgerald
* * * * * * *
The Right Season
by John Fitzgerald
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
As we enter a New Year and wonder how God can use us. Remember this biblical list:
God used Noah a drunk.
Abraham was too old and Jacob a liar.
Leah was ugly, Joseph abused.
Gideon was afraid and Samson had long hair.
Rahab was a prostitute, Timothy very young.
Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God.
Peter denied Christ, the disciples feel asleep while praying.
Lazarus was dead when Christ used him.
The Holy Spirit can take this frail, mortal flesh and make it fit for his glory in 2015. However, a lot of it comes down to living in a time and place where the Lord can reach us. The scriptures teach that much of God's call is living in a right season. The right season is at heart of our scripture reading. Ecclesiastes is a beautiful book of spiritual poetry that addresses hard questions of meaning in the face of evil and good. The third chapter of this book contains a beloved reading concerning time and purpose in living.
As the author of Ecclesiastes would have, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." God brings occasions for life and death, weeping and laughing, silence and speech according to our scripture. It all comes down to knowing what season to which the Lord is calling you.
There is a right chapter and verse for all of us in our journey. We need to take on the Lord's discernment as to appropriate living for 2015. A young man's needs are different than the elderly gentleman. A child has attentions that vary from the adult. A working mom has pressing issues that separate her from the college gal.
God is speaking to us about the right time and season which fits our unique circumstances for 2015. But will we listen to the Lord's call and claim upon us?
Unfortunately, many do not heed the Lord's gentle voice. Instead we go our own direction and live according to goals set by us. The Bible tells us there are many foolish people. The fool refuses to heed God and lives outside of divine purpose. Wisdom instructs that there is nothing like an old fool. It is pitiful to watch someone who has lived a good life act in a destructive manner. We are spared these pitfalls in heeding God's teaching about the right season.
May 2015 be a time when each one of us are living within the Lord's special providence. The prayer of St. Francis is a fine example of what we should be about this New Year:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 1, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"The Right Season" by John Fitzgerald
* * * * * * *
The Right Season
by John Fitzgerald
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
As we enter a New Year and wonder how God can use us. Remember this biblical list:
God used Noah a drunk.
Abraham was too old and Jacob a liar.
Leah was ugly, Joseph abused.
Gideon was afraid and Samson had long hair.
Rahab was a prostitute, Timothy very young.
Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God.
Peter denied Christ, the disciples feel asleep while praying.
Lazarus was dead when Christ used him.
The Holy Spirit can take this frail, mortal flesh and make it fit for his glory in 2015. However, a lot of it comes down to living in a time and place where the Lord can reach us. The scriptures teach that much of God's call is living in a right season. The right season is at heart of our scripture reading. Ecclesiastes is a beautiful book of spiritual poetry that addresses hard questions of meaning in the face of evil and good. The third chapter of this book contains a beloved reading concerning time and purpose in living.
As the author of Ecclesiastes would have, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." God brings occasions for life and death, weeping and laughing, silence and speech according to our scripture. It all comes down to knowing what season to which the Lord is calling you.
There is a right chapter and verse for all of us in our journey. We need to take on the Lord's discernment as to appropriate living for 2015. A young man's needs are different than the elderly gentleman. A child has attentions that vary from the adult. A working mom has pressing issues that separate her from the college gal.
God is speaking to us about the right time and season which fits our unique circumstances for 2015. But will we listen to the Lord's call and claim upon us?
Unfortunately, many do not heed the Lord's gentle voice. Instead we go our own direction and live according to goals set by us. The Bible tells us there are many foolish people. The fool refuses to heed God and lives outside of divine purpose. Wisdom instructs that there is nothing like an old fool. It is pitiful to watch someone who has lived a good life act in a destructive manner. We are spared these pitfalls in heeding God's teaching about the right season.
May 2015 be a time when each one of us are living within the Lord's special providence. The prayer of St. Francis is a fine example of what we should be about this New Year:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 1, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
