I looked out at the backyard this morning and could not help but observe the beauty of fall. One tall, thin maple tree was ablaze in glorious shades of gold. A gentle breeze was blowing with a slight nip of fall. Splashes of color dotted the woods just past our yard. Another season is truly upon us. Autumn is the beautiful preparation for the bareness of winter. The fall of the leaves, the beginnings of the frosts, the heralding of the coming silence. All of these are autumn. Soon the bareness of winter will be upon us, followed by the awakening of life in the comfort of spring. Finally, summer will bear down upon us with its withering heat, but untold beauty. Each will come; each occurs in due season. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
The wise man in Ecclesiastes 3 stated that there is a season for everything. There is an appropriate time for everything under the sun. However, way too often, we are impatient. The Psalmist and the writer of Proverbs admonish, over and over again, that we should “wait on the Lord.” That is something that we have trouble doing.
No question, we live in an age of instant gratification. Why do we carry telephones with us everywhere? So that we don’t have to wait to get messages or to contact someone. How do you feel about waiting in line? Fast food, instant messaging, microwaves—are we not impatient? Even the crockpot, the slow cooker, is used so that we don’t have to wait on a meal when we get home. Now, I know that these things are not wrong, and I am as involved in these as the next person. However, the same urge for instant gratification spills over into other areas of our lives, and it can make us miserable.
We want what we want right now! Sometimes we need to back off and realize that those things will come—in due season. We must put our trust in the Lord and depend upon Him. We must realize that many things are truly worth waiting for them. If we trust God, and we do all that we can to accomplish the goals and to obtain the desires that we have, then we must often sit back and put it into the hands of God.
God sent the wonderful Messiah—in due season. He opened the gates to Heaven to all men—in due season. God will bless us with the things we need and desire, within His will—in due season.
Autumn will soon fade into winter. For a few months, the trees will be barren and the air chilly. Only a few hardy birds will populate our backyard and woods. Yet, they all know that in due season, spring will return, and the summer is coming. They wait upon the Lord for the due time. “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.” May we wait upon the Lord, because He will surely bless us—in due season.
