One God, Two Seasons Part 1
One God, Two Seasons
Tuesday June 27, 2023
Consolation and Desolation
Question…
All of us can testify to the goodness of God. But have you ever felt like God was distant, uncaring, or even hateful towards you?
Saints and theologians of bygone eras have also experienced these same variables. The times when His goodness never ceases to amaze were called the season of consolation. The other times were called the season of desolation. We call them seasons to show that they follow one another.
However, their lengths are not fixed, ranging from a few months to a few years or even decades.
Consolation seems like summer while desolation feels like cold, harsh winter.
Even though there are four seasons, we are focusing on the two extreme seasons. The other two seasons serve as waiting periods between the two extreme seasons. The waiting seasons usually are times when nothing new seems to be happening, when we use phrases such as “not much,” “same old, same old.”
They may be the dark before the break of dawn, or the calm before the storm. They are not enjoyed or despised for themselves, but simply tolerated with a sense of anticipation for the next season. We will not focus on those seasons because there isn’t much else we can do during such times except to wait.
Consolation
Isaiah 40:1-11 (NLT)
1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”
Signs Of The Times Of Consolation
God’s manifest presence, God seems near. We feel His warmth, bringing joy, peace within, peace without, favor, physical health, spiritual health, etc.
God’s material blessings bringing wealth, opportunities, favor with men,
God appears benign…speaks gently, sweetly, comforting and encouragingly. It is easy to see God as a loving friend.
Good feelings, excitement, happiness, hopefulness, confidence
Lots of praise… upbeat songs,
Desolation
Psalms 22:1-2 (NKJV)
1 To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? [Why are You so] far from helping Me, [And from] the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.
John 16:20-22 (NLT)
20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.
21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
Psalms 22:1-2 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.” My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
Presence of God is not made manifest. God seems far. We feel His cold shoulder.
Troubles seem to outnumber God’s blessings.
Psalms 22:11 (NLT) Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me.
God appears to be malicious… gives the silent treatment, or speaks hard words of vengeance and judgment. It is easy to see Him as a fearful terror.
Proverbs 27:6 (NKJV) Faithful [are] the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful.
Bad feelings… sadness, hopelessness, fear, anger
Lots of complaints… no songs of joy, only dirges.
Psalms 137:1-4 (NKJV)
1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us [requested] mirth, [Saying,] “Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land?
Why Do We Have Seasons of Desolation?
When things are going on well, nobody asks why. We simply enjoy our prosperity. When things are difficult when we are in the season of desolation, that is when we ask questions. Sadly, not everybody asks the right questions.
The change from one spiritual season to another is not automatic, but brought about by God’s or man’s reaction.
We love the season of consolation, but we actually need the season of desolation.
So the question remains, why do we need the seasons of desolation?
Fallen Human Nature Is the reason.
Deuteronomy 32:12-15 (NKJV)
12 [So] the LORD alone led him, And [there was] no foreign god with him. 13 “He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock; 14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes. 15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; You grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he forsook God [who] made him, And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Contrary to our belief, human beings don’t do well with prolonged periods of prosperity and peace. The story of Israel is a case in point. There’s a reason why the historical records of nations and empires start with the phrase, “The Rise and Fall of…” Like Israel of old, all of humanity seems to follow this cycle of peace and prosperity, followed by bad behavior, followed by God’s judgment and bad outcomes, followed by repentance, then God's forgiveness and restoration, which results in peace and prosperity, only for bad behavior to ensue.
“We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.”— Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
Amos 4:6-12 (NLT)
6 “I brought hunger to every city and famine to every town. But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD.
7 “I kept the rain from falling when your crops needed it the most. I sent rain on one town but withheld it from another. Rain fell on one field, while another field withered away.
8 People staggered from town to town looking for water, but there was never enough. But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD.
9 “I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees. But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD.
10 “I sent plagues on you like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago. I killed your young men in war and led all your horses away. The stench of death filled the air! But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD.
11 “I destroyed some of your cities, as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Those of you who survived were like charred sticks pulled from a fire. But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD.
12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”
Consequences of Consolation
Risks… shallowness, pride, selfishness, carelessness.
Results… No longer seeking of God, little to no prayers, marked by confident declarations and affirmations,
Consequence of consolation separation from God, either by Divine withdrawal, man’s walking away or Divine removal.
It would be easy for our minds to accept it if the seasons of desolation are caused by our sins, when God is disciplining us for our disobedience. Jesus said over Jerusalem,
Matthew 23:37-38 (NKJV)
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under [her] wings, but you were not willing!
38 “See! Your house is left to you desolate;
This makes sense. Jerusalem would face the just consequences of its actions. And whenever the people repent, God would relent.
It is more difficult to accept the fact that sometimes, God will choose to take us through a season of desolation for no obvious reasons. It is not a judgment of disobedience.
Genesis 15:13 (NLT)
Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
Deuteronomy 32:11 (NKJV)
As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,
Consequences of Desolation
Risks… loss of faith,
Results
Consequences
