This week, it felt like autumn finally began in earnest. The temperature dropped, the leaves took on deeper hues as they floated from the trees and blanketed the side of the road, and I even found myself flinging a warm scarf over my jacket on my way out the door.
I don’t particularly enjoy being cold, but the almost winter-like temperatures bring with them some blessings: the comfort of warming one’s hands around a hot cup of tea, the delight of seeing the contrast of bright leaves against grey fog, the cozy glow of a candle in the early dusk.
The changing of seasons often brings with it a series of blessings I tend to take for granted unless I stop to think about them.
The seasons began, of course, at creation, when God gave the sun, moon, and stars “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” Genesis 1:14
Psalm 104:19 reminds us that God “appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.”
In a sense, the seasons are a reflection of God’s perfect creation, a gift given to us by God in the garden, yet that still remains to this day.
Much changed in this world of ours once sin came into it, but there is no indication that the seasons changed from what they had been. I wonder if Adam and Eve ever noticed the changing of seasons and remembered Eden.
I am finding as I get older that the seasons’ predictable change is comforting. It gives a sense of movement and purpose, and yet it also underscores the faithfulness of God.
In Genesis, God gave Noah a remarkable promise after the flood, that the earth and its inhabitants would never again be destroyed by water. But not only that, He promised something else:
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22
The changing of seasons is a reminder that our God is faithful, and that He keeps His promises.
At Lystra, Paul made an interesting point about the seasons as he preached Christ to the crowd of unbelievers. He says of God:
“Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:16-17)
The goodness of God in the fruitfulness of the seasons is a witness, both to His existence and to His love.
Where I am, autumn winds the year down with long, dark nights and cold, rainy days. But it is a season when God’s mercies are put on display: provision of plenteous food for the winter, a warm house and car and workplace, rest from the pressure of garden upkeep, and that indefinable cozyness of a warm light keeping out the cold darkness beyond the windows.
Dear Reader, these are just a few simple thoughts, a few ways I see God reflected in the changing seasons. How do you see Him in this autumn season? Can you see His mercy on display?
As you watch the seasons change over the next few weeks and months, remember that the changing of seasons is God’s mercy to you, a refreshing breeze wafted from the garden of Eden to remind you that God is both faithful and good.
“O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.”Psalm 107:1