Seasons of Faith

This past summer my family and I traveled to Massachusetts. One of the things we enjoy planning while there are visits to historical sites. In the past couple of years, we have walked the Freedom Trail in Boston, boarded a ship called Mayflower II—which is a remodel of the pilgrim ship that traveled from England to Massachusetts—and visited the famous Plymouth Rock landmark. This past summer we walked inside a recreation of a 17th Century Plymouth Colony and the historic Patuxet Homesite. 

At the Patuxet Homesite, we learned about the Indigenous Northeast heritage of the Wampanoag people. The staff at the site explained the family structure, how they prepared meals, and their farming techniques. One of the facts I found interesting was how they cultivated their land. One family would live in a designated piece of land and take care of it. The family farmed on that land for a few years, then once they wore out the land of its soil and nutrients, they would control burn the area and let the land rest. 

A controlled burning cleared the land for future crops. The ash from the fire fertilized the soil, the much needed nutrients in the soil recycled, and over time the land regrew. The land of the Wampanoag people had seasons marked by preparation, work and growth, burning, and rest and regrowth. 

Learning their strategy made me think of how to better cultivate my spiritual journey. How could I take better care of my spiritual walk if I treated it as something as physical as farmland? 

In seasons of preparation, I can search the Bible for what God has to say about starting a task or counting the cost of committing my life to Him, both practically and spiritually. In Luke 14:28-33, Jesus speaks about the cost of choosing to become one of His disciples. Jesus shares examples of a builder preparing to build a tower, and a king preparing to go off to war. This teaches me that I can count the cost of what I am about to do, and prepare. Then there are seasons of hard work in ministry and in lay work. In Colossians 3:23, Paul reminds me to work hard in whatever I do to honor God and not men. In the midst of the work, I can see God move.  

Then there are seasons to pause and reflect on my walk with God. Am I still growing or have I become stagnant in a busy or even blessed season? Like David in Psalm 139:23-24, I too should ask God to search my heart and open my eyes to what I need to change. Are there idols or habits I need to burn to encourage regrowth? In Deuteronomy 7:5, Moses wrote about the seriousness in which God’s people should deal with idols. Idols were to be broken down and burned with fire. Humbling myself and asking God to defeat my idols leads my spiritual walk to regrowth. 

The reality is that regrowth is not fast, and it is not without sacrifice and pain. Yet we know that God is faithful to His people especially when we call out to Him humbly in prayer. May we remember through the preparation, the hard work, the burning, and the regrowth, that, as Paul reminded the Colossians in his letter, “You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24b).