Finding Peace in Every Season
By Drenda Keesee
As I sit here and watch the Spring flowers start to bloom around our yard, I can’t help but daydream of the summer months ahead. As a southern girl, I am not a big fan of winter or the cold weather, BUT I do think winter is a good, if not a somewhat frustrating, reminder that there are different seasons of life, and it’s unwise to try and force events into seasons in which they don’t really belong.
For example, what would happen if I ran outside in the dead of winter in my swimsuit and flip-flops and tried to mow the grass?
People might think…
I’m insane!
I know, the picture it paints is pretty crazy, but life gets crazy when we try to force our timing on things, instead of waiting for things to unfold in God’s perfect timing.
It’s so important to wait for God to move.
That’s why I want to give you a few essential tips that I’ve learned over the years about finding peace in whatever season you are in.
When you have tough days, lean on the Lord, and focus on His Word. He put you right where you are, and He will help you through any obstacle you are facing.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
It’s so much easier to have peace every day when you trust in God and believe that you are right where you are meant to be.
Can We Really Have It All?
I am going to tell you something that is very opposite to the culture, and it’s this: You weren’t meant to have it all, at least not all at once.
I know! I know! Not a popular opinion, but hear me out!
You were meant to have it all, but everything has its appointed season.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Timing is everything.
Have you ever rushed out the door in a flurry, dropping keys, spilling coffee because you couldn’t find the to-go cup with the lid, wondering if you unplugged the curling iron and praying you did because you don’t have the time to check?
Rushing your morning will be just like rushing God’s plan for you. You will be frazzled, frustrated, and kicking yourself for not planning better.
Sometimes when we find ourselves trying to rush God’s plan, it’s because of a trust issue.
“When’s it going to happen?”
“Come on God.”
“I can’t wait much longer.”
This kind of thinking will wear you out, but trusting in the Lord will renew your mind.
Often, God uses times of waiting to grow your faith and mature you.
FYI, God is not going to deliver His promises early just because you ask.
Be okay with not knowing. God knows!
Be Wary of Envying Someone Else’s Harvest
You may be getting married, becoming a new mom, or taking on a full-time job for the first time in years. We are all living in different seasons.
When you are in a season of planting and preparing, it might be tempting to look at your neighbor, who is in a season of harvesting, and feel envious.
James 3:16 tells us “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”
Remember, they had to go through different seasons, too, seasons of planting and waiting.
Use someone else’s harvest as encouragement that YOU, TOO, WILL REAP WHAT YOU ARE SOWING!
When you try to rush what God has already promised, you are living in fear, and fear will lead to chaos.
Instead, go to God.
Get into His presence daily.
Set your eyes on God’s Word, on His promises.
If God has promised it in His Word, He will deliver it!
Go HERE for an amazing FREE resource that I created to help you make the most of your prayer time.
Remember, God will grant you wisdom as you navigate various seasons in your life.
He will help you find peace in the waiting!
Listen in Now to Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
