
Do you find yourself in a season of waiting? Perhaps you feel a calling on your life that hasn’t come to fruition yet? Or maybe you are waiting for God to answer a prayer and it feels like He isn’t listening. Those winter seasons can feel empty, barren, hopeless, and long. I love the song by Hillsong called “Seasons”. It reminds us that even in winter seasons God is working. Even though nature doesn’t seem to be producing during the winter, there is a purpose for it. I encourage you to listen to the song, but for now, allow me to share some lyrics with you.

Do you believe your season will come? Maybe you feel God has forgotten about you? Or maybe you feel you were wrong about what you felt Him say to you? Wouldn’t it be nice if our spiritual winters had a timeline on the calendar like nature’s seasons? Our calendar aligns with the movement of the sun so we can predict the seasons to the day. Not so with our spiritual seasons. Indeed, when our lives are surrendered to God, the S-O-N does dictate the seasons of our lives, but He is not predictable like the S-U-N. Our spiritual calendars require trust, hope, and patience. Not to mention the fact that we are all on a different spiritual calendar, further exacerbating our impatience as we fall into the comparison trap.
But what happens in our natural lives is not always an accurate representation of what is happening in the spiritual realm. Take Abraham and Sarah (previously named Abram and Sarai), for example. God promised them a son, and yet in the natural realm, Sarai’s womb was barren. However, God had birthed a promise in their lives that was being prepared for the right time in the spiritual realm. Their season just hadn’t come. After 25 years, at the age of 100 and 90 respectively, their promise finally manifested with the birth of their son, Isaac. You see, with God, winter seasons aren’t barren. He can produce fruit in every season, even if it’s not the fruit we are expecting. There’s purpose in the waiting.
The Waiting
You are probably familiar with Isaiah 40:31. The word “wait” in Hebrew is qāvâ. One of its meanings is to “bind together”2. The corresponding footnote in The Passion Translation says, “Waiting on God is never passive; it is binding our hearts to who God is as we wait for God’s plans to unfold”3. Patience in the winter waiting rarely comes easy. If you are struggling, I encourage you to ask God to unbind you from any impatience that may be stealing your peace, joy, or hope, and bind yourself to what you know to be true about God and His word. Although your winter season may be dreary and feel long, you can cling to the Lord and have renewed strength for the wait. Keep your eyes open to what God is producing in you and around you along the way. In God’s time, in God’s way, God’s plan for your life will unfold.
Scriptures for Contemplation
Psalm 1
Genesis 12–21
Share about the season you are in.
1 Hillsong Worship,“Seasons,” by Hillsong Worship and Benjamin William Hastings, Hillsong Music Capitol CMG, track 3 on Christmas: The Peace Project,, 2017, Spotify app
2 H6960 - qāvâ - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)," Blue Letter Bible, accessed January 20, 2025, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6960/kjv/wlc/0-1/
3 Simmons, Dr. Brian. 2020. The Passion Translation. 2020th ed. Broadstreet Publishing.