What's Next? - Fall
Part of What's Next?—Seasons
February 19, 2023

Life moves in seasons, and this is easy to get excited about when you’re moving into spring or summer. However, it is difficult to wrap your head around when you are moving into a fall or winter season. And yet it is still precisely true. Knowing it is seasonal will bring you peace in the times of decline.


I. Characteristics of a

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Season
A. Everything that has been lush and full begins to fade and draw inward.
B. Where there was an abundance there is now thinning resources.
C. What appears to be decline is seasonal change.
D. The growth that had only required tending now requires attention and consideration.

II.
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Forward
A. It is possible to move
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even when in fall. It requires an acute awareness of the season and discipline around your emotions and spiritual practices but living well in a fall season and into winter is like drawing the string back on a bow, anticipating the opportunities the next spring will bring.

Micah 7:8 ESV
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness,the Lord will be a light to me.

Psalm 61:1-4 NIV
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2 from the end of the earth I call to
you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

B.
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that the entire Bible is full of stories of 1 step forward and 2, 3, or even 4 steps back. God is not concerned with
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He is concerned with whatever it takes to move you forward.

- Israel spent 40 years making a 2-week journey.
- David took most of his life to inherit the kingdom
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to him as a teenager.
- Joseph took so many steps
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after the vision that set the course of his life it is hard to see when he moved forward.

C. Seasonal decline is healthy and is not an indicator of a wrong direction or invalid purpose. Prayerfully, and in council with wise friends and leaders, determining if you’re in a fall season or headed in the wrong direction will allow you to determine if you should keep moving forward or consider a new direction.

Psalm 37:23-24 NLT
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

D. The hardest transition in the seasons of life is the one from
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to fall. It is easy to become comfortable in the summer and
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that attention and effort must be reengaged as you move into fall.

E. In fall you need:
1.
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that has been strengthened through consistent time in the word and with God
2.
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and supportive community
3. Clear
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and certain purpose
4.
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to know what to focus on and where to direct resources

If you find yourself in a fall season today, I want to offer encouragement in the words of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.