Are You in a Spring Season of Your Soul?

By Elizabeth Enlow

Excerpt from "God in Every Season"

Available on Amazon November 11, 2017

Spring — Unique Fears, Lies, and Temptations

With each new season, comes the unique, yet familiar fears, lies, and temptations that our souls are especially susceptible to during that time. If you're currently in a spring season in your relationship with God, some of these will really resonate with you. 

Remember those classic funny skits about a woman in labor who's panting and swearing, lashing out at the one who got her pregnant to begin with? In my times of labor and delivery, fortunately I was able to be nice to my hubby. But I do remember when I delivered Justice, who was my biggest baby, telling him I was done and wanted to go home. Clearly that wasn’t an option, but it seemed logical to my fragile mind at the time. During the spring seasons of your soul, because you're in a process of birthing important things, your fears, lies, and temptations can be quite irrational and can fuel a desire to just quit, even though you know that's not a realistic option. 

Specifically, common fears in springtime are the fear of more pain, the fear of being vulnerable, and the fear of having to rely on others. These particular fears can especially be debilitating for those who’ve grown up learning to use them as tools or rules to live by in order to survive what they went through — protect yourself from more pain, never be vulnerable, and don’t put yourself in situations where you’ll have to rely on others.

Related to those common fears are some common lies. The enemy loves to convince us that we simply cannot handle any more pain — that any more pain we or the ones we love go through will cause us to finally sink or fall apart. As I shared before, I really believed that lie for awhile. It can be exhausting trying to live out of that fear, seeking to control everything and everyone around us in hopes of avoiding more pain. People who are like that aren’t necessarily mean, they’re just dysfunctional because, for them, it’s a life-or-death situation. At least that’s what they believe in their core. If that’s you or someone else, show some compassion while the truth is being revealed. Guess what? Unfortunately, you and I know all too well that we can actually handle more pain! Whatever amount of pain you’ve already experienced, like a crowded subway, there’s always room for one more.

Another big lie in spring is that you're overwhelmed. I must have used this word at the end of just about every day of my life, for years. I thought it was an ok word to use because it helped describe how I felt. Although the feeling was real, the truth was that I wasn’t completely submerged. My head was still above water and the proof of it was that I still had energy to complain. You may feel overwhelmed, but if you’re still among the living, then you are overcoming. 

Back to our picture of a woman in labor. (Sorry to be-labor the point, ha ha!) Although she has to push and work hard to deliver the baby, during the majority of her time in labor her body is actually doing the work it was created to do for her, while her main job is to resist fighting the pain and pressure. In spring’s transition, you’re susceptible to a religious lie that says this all depends on your performance and your hard work, when it actually depends more on God’s strength in you as you resist fighting the intense pressure in your soul. He will bring it to pass as you allow Him to work in you. It's important in spring to interact with God from a heart that is sure of His ability to sustain you. You have full access to His strength, His wisdom, and His ability whenever you need it.. 

 "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 NKJV

Spring seasons commonly make our hearts vulnerable to the very real temptation to live in regret and question what we originally asked God for in the depths of a previous winter season. Don’t give into the temptation to allow weariness to overtake you. Allow this familiar scripture to encourage you. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart." To lose heart, or lose your soul, means to lose sight of the eternal aspect of what you are doing. Don’t just do good for the sake of doing good. Consciously and with intentionality, connect the good things that you’re doing back to what matters most — what knowledge of God are you advancing in yourself and being used to help others advance in? Are you learning how loved you are and how to love Him and others well?

The excitement of change that’s in the air in spring, brings a temptation to look too far ahead, rather than getting through each day with purpose and strength. Learn to be fully present in this season of your soul. Live in each moment with hope, anticipating and embracing the new thing He’s doing right now in and through you.

The danger of this season is to abort the new thing God is birthing in and through you. It's easy to lose connection with the original desire you asked God for — the reason for the chaos and pain that makes it all worth it. You can easily revert to sheer will-power and forget the intimacy that brought you here. You may feel distant from God because you're working so hard to birth what you longed for — what the two of you dreamed up together. It’s usually a busy season, much different than the lull of winter, but only because you actually did the right thing in the midst of the long winter. So be encouraged as you navigate through this spring season, knowing that you have access to all that you'll need to bring to the light those things you wrestled for in the dark of winter.