Discerning Your Spiritual Season: Most Christians Get This Wrong
I need to tell you something that might shake up everything you believe about God's timing in your life. After years of pastoring and watching believers struggle with the same patterns, I've discovered that most Christians aren't burned out because they're doing the wrong things. They're exhausted because they're doing the right things in the wrong season.
Let me be direct: the most critical skill missing in today's Church isn't evangelism or worship, it's the ability to discern your spiritual season. I've watched countless believers live in constant frustration, not because their calling is wrong, but because their timing is off.
When I taught this message to my congregation, something shifted in the atmosphere. People began to understand why they felt stuck, why their prayers seemed unanswered, and why their efforts weren't producing the fruit they expected. The issue wasn't their heart or their calling, it was their understanding of seasons.
The Hebrew word "zeman" in Ecclesiastes 3:1 doesn't mean "suggested time," it means "appointed time." Yet I see Christians living off suggestions from social media, friends, and culture rather than stepping into their God-appointed spiritual season. This has to change.
The D.O.S.E. Framework I Use to Help People Navigate Seasons
Over the years, I've developed a simple framework that has transformed how our church approaches spiritual timing:
D - Discern the season you are in
O - Observe and fully embrace today
S - Stay faithful in small things
E - Execute with consistency and intentionality
This framework addresses what I see as the core issue: Christians struggle with timing, not calling. They try to harvest during planting seasons, rush into ministry without proper preparation, or delay obedience until they "feel ready."
I've watched people destroy their lives because they couldn't discern their spiritual season. They took the right calling and launched it at the wrong time, wondering why blessing became a curse.
Why I Believe Most Christians Misunderstand Spiritual Seasons
Here's what I've observed after years of ministry: the problem isn't lack of discernment, it's misdirected discernment. I tell my congregation regularly that "discernment should be developed internally before it's distributed externally." Too many believers become experts at critiquing others while remaining blind to their own spiritual season.
This mirrors the Israelites in Numbers 14, and I preach about this pattern because it's happening in our churches today. The Israelites spent more energy complaining about Moses and Aaron than examining their own hearts. Their inability to discern their spiritual season turned a brief wilderness journey into 40 years of wandering.
I see the same pattern in modern Christianity. Believers change churches, abandon callings, and make fear-based decisions because they cannot discern what God has appointed for their current spiritual season.
What I've Learned About Appointed Time vs. Suggested Time
In my study of Hebrew culture, I discovered that "zeman" (appointed time) carries the connotation of agreement, which is coming into alignment with God's divine schedule. This isn't about passive waiting; it's about active cooperation with divine timing.
I often share these examples with my congregation:
Sex within marriage builds up; sex outside marriage destroys
Ministry launched in God's timing bears fruit; ministry launched prematurely produces frustration
Confrontation in the right spiritual season brings resolution; confrontation in the wrong season creates division
The key insight I want you to understand is that blessings become curses when received outside their appointed spiritual season. I've seen this truth played out in countless lives.
How I Help People Discern Their Current Season
When counseling believers, I ask them to examine three key areas:
1. What's Driving Your Decisions? I challenge people to identify whether they're making faith-based or fear-based decisions. Fear-based decisions always lead backward to comfort, while faith-based decisions push you forward into God's purposes.
2. What Fruit Are You Bearing? The fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience) manifest when you align with God's appointed spiritual season. When I see chronic anxiety, frustration, or spiritual barrenness, I know there's misalignment.
3. Are You Trying to Harvest in a Planting Season? This is huge. Many believers demand immediate results when God has called them to sow seeds faithfully. I tell them: put seed in the soil before demanding God give you a raise, a mate, or a breakthrough.
The Daily Practice I Prescribe for Seasonal Discernment
I give my congregation a specific daily discipline that has transformed how they approach God's timing:
Silent Prayer (5 minutes daily): Ask God to reveal His will for your current spiritual season
Journal Your Insights: Record what God speaks during these times
Seek Accountability: Share your discernment with trusted believers who can provide biblical perspective
This practice, combined with regular meditation on Psalm 31:15 ("My times are in your hand"), helps believers stay aligned with God's timing rather than forcing their own agenda.
I've seen this simple exercise produce breakthrough after breakthrough in people's lives.
My Challenge to Those Living in Delay
Many believers delay obedience because they don't see themselves as ready. But I tell them what God showed me years ago: God calls us to step in before we feel prepared, allowing the act of obedience to transform us into the person He's calling us to become.
This requires abandoning the need for human approval and embracing divine appointment. It means having crucial conversations, taking bold steps, and trusting God's timing even when it contradicts our comfort zones.
I remember looking back at my own journey. Ten years ago, I was teaching Rick Renner's materials to seven interns, not knowing Rick personally. I was planting seeds in a small office space. Now, Rick Renner comes to preach at our church. It wasn't about the size of the audience; it was about being faithful in the season I was in.
Your Spiritual Season Is Waiting
The question isn't whether you have a calling, it's whether you're operating in your appointed spiritual season. Stop living off suggestions and step into your divine appointment.
I believe God has graced conversations for positioning, alignment, and assignment in this season. That ball of anxiety in your stomach can be unraveled through prayer and worship, not endless analysis.
As I reminded my congregation: "Yesterday's in the tomb, tomorrow's in the womb. Today is all we've got. That's why it's called a present: because today is a gift."
Your spiritual season is waiting. The question is: will you discern it and step in?
I'm praying for breakthrough in your understanding of seasons. When you align with the rhythm of grace, you'll find the rest, purpose, and fruitfulness you've been seeking.
Ready to go deeper in your spiritual journey? Consider supporting this ministry as we continue equipping believers to discern their God-appointed seasons.