Four Tips to Know Your Season

Just as seasons change in the natural, spiritual seasons ebb and flow as we journey through life.

Some seasons bring more joy (or pain) than others, but through every season, God remains trustworthy and faithful. He also reveals His heart to us regarding each season–if we’ll listen and partner with His Holy Spirit.

So, why discuss the importance of knowing your season?

Firstly, my heart aches for many creatives who try to emulate others and miss the beauty the Father wants to reveal regarding their personal walk with Him—a beauty that can only be discovered in intimate conversation with God.

Many creatives copy-and-paste the success tracks of others in hopes they’ll have equal–or greater–success.

Don’t get me wrong–there’s nothing wrong with learning from others.

But many creatives aim for the easy route, seeking fame and financial stability, and those copied routes leave many discontented and disillusioned.

Secondly, knowing our season can align us in a deeper partnership with the Holy Spirit.

As a creative after God’s heart, you desire to impact the world for His glory–to change lives and see people freed from physical, spiritual, and emotional captivity.

That kind of impact can be accomplished, but only with God. We honestly can do nothing in ourselves.

We cannot change the world in our own power or strength. That isn’t to our shame. If anything, it adds weight to the importance of our surrender.

When you surrender and allow God to use you, you can impact this world in a greater capacity than you could have ever done on your own.

Knowing your personal season reveals where God has placed you and illuminates the direction God wants to lead you, aligning you with the Holy Spirit to work in fluid movement.

If that’s the case, then how do we discern our season?

Tip One: Have an honest conversation with God.

Everything will always start with a no-hold-back conversation. 😂

To have clarity in any season, we must hear directly from God and not lean upon our own understandings.

Side note: If having a conversation with God is the last thing you want to do, then wouldn’t it be interesting if the Father has you in a season to address those barriers keeping you from an intimate conversation with Him. Just sayin’. 😉

A relationship with you will always matter more to the Father than the work you do with your hands.

Tip Two: Listen to His voice — desiring His presence and turning away outside influences

This world gets louder by the second as many influences vie for our attention, devotion, and pocketbooks.

However, the Lord already knows what He wants you to walk out for His glory. But can you walk at His pace while He shows you how to fulfill His will for your life?

Psalm 32:8-9 hits me hard–every time.

How well do you remain near God? Do you willingly abide in His presence, walking beside Him? Or is God constantly running you down to bring you back to Him?

To effectively discern God’s voice, we must remain in an intimate relationship with Him. Which means no wandering off! 😂

The more you dwell with God, the more you’ll know His nature and character, and the more your ears will be attuned to His voice. You’ll be able to distinguish Him over yourself and others.

(p.s. Feel free to check out this conversation on Sabbath Rest for an Invitation for Zero Burdens)

Tip Three: Let go of personal expectations

I’ll be the first to admit I’m guilty of clinging to my expectations rather than release them. That consuming yearning for the fulfillment of dreams can overwhelm me at times.

So, I must consciously surrender my hopes and dreams unto the Father, choosing His best path for my life.

By sitting in the Lord’s presence and letting go of personal expectations, we can receive a clear vision and realign our focus onto Christ. From that place, we’ll either be reminded of what God has already spoken or be given a fresh word to cling to.

Those words are the expectations we hold to as guarantees from the Father.

Disillusionment creeps in when we envision expectations that God never promises.

In Matthew 20, we see Jesus sharing a parable relating the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who hired laborers for his vineyard. The landowner went out at various times to hire more workers, resulting in varying degrees of time each individual spent laboring in the vineyard. (ref. Matthew 20:1- 16).

At the end of the day, the workers gathered around to receive the reward for their hard labor. Those who worked the shortest time received the full wage that had been promised.

Then came time for the workers who’d been in the vineyard the longest. In verses 10-12, we read how they expected to receive more for their long, hard hours but were disappointed when their expectations weren’t met.

Yet, here’s the thing. The expectations weren’t based on what the landowner had said.

The landowner had already promised what he would do and what he would give. That should have been the expectation.

I find it interesting how, in business, we can easily fall into the same circle of disappointments and discontent when we have unmet expectations.

Are your expectations founded on what God has said for your business? Or do they need to be reviewed through a higher lens?

Tip Four: Allow God to show you what the season looks like, one step at a time, even if there’s no upfront guarantee of a positive outcome

This one’s the hardest–I’m not gonna lie.

Because this requires letting go of control.

People often overlook their trust issues regarding their relationship with God. They honestly don’t consider the possibility.

As a result of our broken world, people are constantly attacking one another–either verbally, emotionally, or physically.

People will establish internal walls as ways of preventing further pain and trauma.

Unfortunately, those defense mechanisms transition into how we interact with God; and not necessarily on a conscious level. Most often, we subconsciously hold God at arm’s length, making the ministry of the Holy Spirit that much more prevalent as He opens the eyes of our understanding.

This is why God does an internal work in the hearts of His creatives before He ever unleashes them into an external work in serving others. Often, we need to be ministered to more than we imagine.

My friend, God wants to show you what true freedom found in Him looks and feels like, so you can effectively translate that to this broken world.

You can’t bring others to deeper levels of freedom if you’re bound in hidden captivity yourself. (And yes, I’m speaking from experience. 😅)

This is the beauty of surrender.

To do mighty things in the Lord will require a greater dependency upon Him. A dependency you shouldn’t be ashamed of!

But you won’t be able to surrender the deepest parts of yourself if you struggle to trust God.

Allow the Lord to show you what He wants this season to look like. When you partner (faith-believing) with His word, there will come an increase in clarity and vision.

Once that clarity hits, you’ll have the confidence to press forward, because you’ll have no doubt of God’s plan for your season.

That time and intentionality is never a bad thing, my friend! Your relationship with the Father will be better for it!

Bonus tip: Get creative and display the vision!

Once you’ve had that wonderful conversation with the Lord, receiving clarity regarding your season and strengthening your relationship with Him, create something to serve as a tangible reminder of the moment.

(And please share it with me! I’d love to see it!)

There’s no limit or rule on what that creation could be–whether a painting, word art, vision board, digital canvas, etc. Let the inspiration flow freely!

Those physical reminders of conversations with God can be a great encouragement when trying times hit or when distractions rise up to throw you off your game.

I hope these tips blessed you and inspired you to dig deeper into a conversation with the Father.

If you enjoyed this content, I’d love to invite you to join our Heart for Creatives Crew–a bi-weekly hug delivered to your inbox. Each heart letter is full of encouragement and inspiration to keep you pressing onward, fulfilling that which the Father has entrusted you to complete for His glory.

You are a gem! God bless!