Mar. 3, 2017

Going Through The Changes And Seasons of Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1...To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven...(6)...A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away.

1965 was the year the pop group "The Byrds" released their album Turn, Turn, Turn, To Everything There's A Season Turn Turn. It is still celebrated as an iconic song that is being played today...over 50 years later.

It has always ben interesting to me that the Byrds chose to record a song that has lyrics from the Bible. Recording artists have never been shy about songs that had strong religious tones, Norman Greenbaums "Spirit In The Sky" has the best opening ever recorded, The Edwin Hawkins Singers recorded "Oh Happy Day" in the 70's, Bill Withers "Lean On Me", Sam Cookes "A Change Is Gonna Come", England Dan And John Ford Coley "Love Is The Answer" and many many more and they were tremendous Hit Songs and Timeless.   

I jokingly put on FaceBook that February would be the month long celebration of my 66th birthday. Many of my friends and family played along with me, after all you will only get to be whatever number you are celebrating one time. 

Number 66 has indeed been good to me thus far but there has been a heaviness in my Spirit due to a problem that has been the elephant in the room for months and it has been difficult to handle. The reason for my lack of posts has been due to this problem, truthfully the more I tried to write my way through it, the more nothing came to my mind to write.

So it became a time of withdrawal to that place of solitude where you pour your heart out to God asking why, feeling sorry for yourself and just waiting to hear from God because in spite of the pain, I knew God would tell me why...in His time.  

My wife and I are experiencing a loss, we are giving up our home. She has been dealing with it better than I have, ladies generally do. My issue was God gave us our home, not being able to keep it to me meant I failed my wife and more importantly God. When we were Blessed with it in 2007, our prayer was...let this home be a refuge to the Saints who need a place to stay during the Church of God In Christ Convocation and of course relatives.   

During my time of solitude, God spoke to me and said, so you feel like you failed? My answer, yes. God said is it your fault your pay plan at your job changed? My answer, No. He said, in your prayers to me, you asked for what I gave you to be a refuge for those needing shelter...right? Then God dropped a God thing on me...He said, COGIC left Memphis for St. Louis? My answer Yes. He asked me...how long have they been gone...since 2009? How many times do relatives come to Memphis to stay now that they (and you and your wife) have gotten older?...Not often.

God simply reminded me, things change. You enjoyed the gift of your home for a season but the season has changed. They always do. God then told me about His Old Testament Prophets. He started with Elijah in 1st Kings Chapter 17. God said, remember those who I called really had nothing like homes, meals or transportation but they were obedient enough to go where I told them to go. I told Elijah to go to the brook Cherith, you will have water to drink from the brook and I have commanded Ravens to feed you. Like clock work, Ravens brough him bread and meat in the morning and evening. Elijah did this until the brook dried up. He never said...Um God, you know this water is gone right?

Then God told him to go to Zaraphat, I have commanded a widow woman to sustain you and she did. Abraham called God Jehovah Jireh...The Lord Will Provide...God provided for everyone He called and continues to call to His service, that includes me and my wife. It also includes you too.

Quincy Jones has a beautiful song on one of his albums titled "Everything Must Change"...the lyrics are...

Everything must change
Nothing stays the same
Everyone must change
No one stays the same

The young become the old
And mysteries do unfold
Cause that's the way of time
Nothing and no one goes unchanged

There are not many things in life
You can be sure of
Except rain comes from the clouds
Sun lights up the sky
And hummingbirds do fly

God has not forgotten about you, though there seems to be no way out, go to that place of solitude. The Bible will remind you that Jesus periodically went to His place of solitude to pray. To commune with His Father, sometime He took the disciples. When Jesus needed them most...in the Garden of Gethesemane...they fell asleep...Jesus dealt with his humanity the very same way we do, he became fearful of what was to come...asking that this cup be removed from me. But He had a Never The Less in His Spirit saying...not my will but thy will be done Luke 22:42 KJV   

The changes of life and seasons will forever be with us, so will our Heavenly Father. What you count as loss is no where near it to God, He is just getting you ready for your next assignment.

God Bless You, 

Elder Thomas Burgess