I love springtime. The weather is lovely, and all of the flowers finally start to bloom. I particularly love the bulbous flowers that come back year after year – tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, peonies. Spring is a glorious time, one that we tend to signify as growth. It ends the dormant season of winter, and new life springs forth.
But without the dormant season, there would never be new life.
There is a cycle to the life of these plants. Each spring they bloom, most of them only one time. The colorful petals last for a few days, a few weeks at best, and then all that remains are the leaves. Then, by first frost, even those are gone, and nothing remains to be seen of the plant. And yet, the plant is still alive and growing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Everything includes our own growth.
There have been many seasons in my own life, where I have felt dormant. Where my prayer life seemed stagnant, where worship felt like work. Seasons where I felt like I was faithfully showing up, doing what I had been taught to do, and yet, was seeing no fruit.
Honestly, these seasons are hard. I find them frustrating. And yet, having lived to see the other side of several of these seasons, I now know just how rewarding they can be.
Just as with the flowers that bloom every spring, there is a season for everything. The dormant season is good for the flower – it helps it to recharge, to heal and renew, and even to multiply. The same is true for us as God’s daughters. We were not created to constantly be putting off showy blooms. We too, need dormant seasons.
It is in the dormant seasons, where I learned that showing up for my time with the Lord, just to show up, was worth it. His presence, was worth it.
In the dormant seasons, I’ve learned that the discipline of prayer – whether I felt like praying or not – became a delight.
In the dormant seasons, I’ve learned that sitting in my secret place with my Savior leads to my sanctification.
We see the same truth play out in the lives of many listed in scripture.
There was a season where Joseph was in the pit and the prison, before managing the palace.
There was a season where Moses was hiding in Midian, being prepared to lead the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.
There was a season where Ruth was a widow, gleaning in the fields – the foundation being laid to become an ancestor of Jesus.
There was a season where David was simply a shepherd, learning to be a warrior and a king.
There were 30 years of life on earth, where Jesus himself prepared and waited for a 3-year season of ministry.
These seasons aren’t filled with beautiful blooms. But they are filled with growth. These seasons create in us the kind of growth that produces plants and people that last. The kind of people with deeply rooted faith, who carry light into the world, knowing that no matter what storm comes, their God is good.
These dormant seasons create in us a steadfastness, an unwavering hope that enables us to stand alone for the truth when no one else will.
These dormant seasons create in us the humility that it takes to love others through their dormant and painful seasons.
These seasons produce within us exactly what we each need so that when spring comes, we can do what God has called us to do.
If you find yourself in a dormant season today, do not look on it with disdain. Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged, but keep seeking Him. Whether it is a season of pain and suffering, or simply a season where you feel stagnant, the Lord is not surprised by it. Psalm 139:16 tells us that “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” God knew this season was coming, and He knows exactly the growth that is planned for this time. So just as the psalmist cries out in Psalm 31:14-15, we can say, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.’ 15 My times are in your hand.”
You can trust in the Lord, even in this dormant season, because spring is coming. Continue showing up, sitting in the secret places with Him, and you will bloom again.
We want to thank Brooke Kellum for sharing this post.
Women's Ministry 