Season of Renewal

David wrote in Psalm 104:27-30,

27 These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, and they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the Earth.

The scientific community among us tells us that our world is governed by what they call "natural law." Most of them forget or choose to ignore, however, that behind the law is the Lawgiver. Behind creation is a Creator, the God of the universe Who cares immensely for His creation and His people. Who is it, anyway, who unifies the universe and makes it work so intricately well together in all its varied and gloried splendor? It is none other than the God Who made it all in the first place. Paul stated in Romans 1:20, “Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” All of creation waits upon Him and trusts Him to supply what is needed, just as we read in this psalm. As the psalmist wrote, "These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good" (verses 27-28 above).

God gives and we gather. He clothes the fields with flowers (Matthew 6:30) and He feeds the sparrows as He marks their fall (Matthew 10:29). He provides and we take. He is dependable and He takes care of His own. "I have been young, and now am old," David says in Psalm 37:25. "Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." God is also generous. As Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” He does not give carelessly or selfishly. He opens His hand, and all of creation is filled with good. As the Apostle Paul said regarding the generosity of the Lord in Romans 10:12 and Ephesians 1:7-8, “ . . . the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us.”

Our God is sovereign, and He is in control, even to the changing of the seasons and life and death. "You hide Your face, and they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the Earth" (verses 29-30 above). Spring is so beautiful and so full of promise, summer is so delightful and full of dreams, and autumn is so fruitful and full of God’s bounty. Then winter follows, and it seems so dismal and abysmal. But the same God of spring, summer and autumn is also still the same God of winter. He brings the refreshing, renewing springtime again and again, and He longs to do the same for you. As Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

God can renew your life this very day. He can bring you seasons of fruitfulness and seasons of sunshine, for He causes the rain to fall on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Do not worry about the seasons of life. Do not fret when the Devil afflicts you. Remember, our God is faithful. The Sovereign Lord Who is in charge of this universe can manage the changing seasons of your life, and He will not place you in any situation beyond what you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). If you are in a season of winter, then wait on the Lord with patience. When He is ready, God will send you a spring of opulent joy and unspeakable and unfathomable riches!