That goes to say, we may be in a season where we may not see God, but I promise you, He's there. I think that it is incredibly important to pay attention in those seasons of God: the ones in which we are called to act without immediate benefit or reward. I call these times God’s Anyhow Seasons. I got the expression from Elizabeth Payne, who in addition to being a marketplace leader with a major international bank, and a mother who has raised a wonderful family with her husband, is a pastor on the weekends. Liz has processed a myriad of Anyhow Seasons in her life.
Listening to her speak when she can @ BOLD, reminds me that these Anyhow Seasons, are truly God-designed processes for revitalizing our hearts and revealing our motives to ourselves. Motives often start out pure, but like any bills pushed through the legislatures, end up coming out with a lot of pork attached. “Porked motives” are those good acts and intentions in which we include personal perks, and look the other way areas.
In those Anyhow Seasons we should stand vigilant against the ‘believing’ that we are doing the right thing, all the while ignoring certain amounts of slippage that occur along the way. We all have slippage. The problem with slippage and pork is when we start to accept it, and incorporate it into our lives; it will ultimately undermines our commitment and power to live unto God.
Living for God requires everything you have; and then some!
If you are living for God and don’t have to rely upon Him every day, you probably have a lot of slippage or pork packed in there. This is not to condemn anyone. That's why we have the Cross. The Cross was given to us to cripple the kryptonite of the soul and spirit.
One of the greatest things is living for God, and living BY God. Man, when He shows up, IT IS ALWAYS WORTH THE WAIT! ALWAYS!
These Anyhow Seasons are always Seed Seasons. God has planted a lot of Word in your life; and it is through and in these Seasons of Anyhow, that that Word or Seed takes root and starts to grow. First the root, then the blade, then the stalk… You never know exactly what God has planted until you give it a growing season. The pork and slippage are the tares planted alongside of the seed of God that chokes that seed from growing to maturity.
God’s Anyhow Seasons are wonderful times
What has the Lord planted in your life? Is your Anyhow Season a Season of Pre-Promotion? Seasons of Promotion are preceded by Seasons of Anonymity. Another process during the Season of Anonymity is to be rejected of men. When this occurs it is not intended to be a rebuke, but an inoculation against the temptation to cave in for the sake of popularity. Before anyone is accepted of God, they must be inoculated by the rejection or fear of men.
Seasons of Darkness are preceded by Seasons of Light and Revelation.
Seasons of Freedom are preceded by Seasons of great Submission.
Seasons of Unity are preceded by Seasons of Prayer and Patience.
I encourage everyone to come out to hear Elizabeth Payne share on Seasons of Anyhow tomorrow, Tuesday @ 12:45pm at St. Bart’s Church, 50th and Park Avenue.
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