Happy Sabbath, friends!

This past week, I have spent a lot of time during my drives home from work admiring the beauty of God’s artwork — nature.

I have noticed the different colors appearing on every tree and even found beauty in the colorful leaves scattered across the ground.

Fall carries such a unique beauty within it.

And as I looked at everything changing around me, I began thinking about something deeper:

How can our Heavenly Father make a season of fading, falling, and letting go look so beautiful?

And if God can create beauty in a season like fall, can He also help us discover beauty in the difficult seasons of our own lives?

Ecclesiastes 3:1–4 (NASB 2020)
“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Beauty In Every Season

People sometimes ask me whether I carry regrets from different seasons of my life.

My answer is usually no.

Not because every experience was good.

Not because everything that happened was something I would choose to experience again.

But because I recognize that I would not be the person I am today without some of the trials and tribulations I have walked through.

Some of those seasons strengthened my faith.

Some taught me what I needed to let go of.

Some revealed areas where I needed to grow.

And some simply showed me how desperately I needed God.

Even in seasons of sadness, darkness, despair, or dormancy, beauty can still be found.

Sometimes that beauty may simply be realizing that our Heavenly Father never left us.

We can easily assume that when life becomes painful, confusing, or disappointing, something must have gone wrong spiritually.

But Scripture never promises that following Jesus will make every season easy.

Isaiah 43:2 (NASB 2020)
““When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

God does not always promise to remove the waters or the fire.

He promises to be with us through them.

Standing Firm Through The Storm

It is also important to remember that evil does not originate with God.

Scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

James 1:17 (NASB 2020)
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

At the same time, we live in a broken world, and Scripture reminds us that spiritual warfare is real.

The enemy desires to pull our attention away from God, weaken our faith, and convince us that we would be better off without Him.

That is why, especially during difficult seasons, we need to remain anchored in Christ.

God does not force us into a relationship with Him.

Love cannot be forced.

He gives us the ability to choose whether we will follow Him, trust Him, and remain faithful to Him.

And when hardship comes — whether it comes from living in a broken world, the consequences of human choices, or spiritual opposition — we do not have to face it alone.

Our strength does not come from pretending everything is fine.

Our strength comes from remaining close to our Heavenly Father.

Ephesians 6:10–13 (NASB 2020)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

He gives us the strength to stand when life feels overwhelming.

He gives us perseverance when we feel exhausted.

And He remains with us through every season.

God Can Redeem What Hurts

God does not have to call something good in order to bring something good out of it.

That distinction is important.

Pain can still be painful.

Loss can still hurt.

Disappointment can still disappoint us.

But God can redeem what happens to us.

He can use difficult seasons to grow perseverance, compassion, wisdom, humility, and dependence on Him.

He can even use a season we never wanted to redirect us toward something we could not yet see.

Romans 8:28 (NASB 2020)
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

James 1:2–4 (NASB 2020)
“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Sometimes we do not recognize what God has been developing within us until much later.

And that brings me back to the trees.

Growing Beneath The Surface

When we think about fall, we usually focus on the changing leaves, the beautiful colors, and the cool breeze that comes with the season.

But take a moment to think about the tree beneath those leaves.

By late fall and winter, a tree can look almost completely lifeless.

The leaves are gone.

The branches are bare.

From the outside, it can appear as though nothing is happening.

But beneath the surface, the roots remain.

The tree is still alive.

And another season is coming.

Our lives can look the same way.

There may be seasons when we do not see progress.

We may not see answered prayers.

We may not feel like we are growing.

We may wonder whether God is doing anything at all.

But just because you cannot see growth does not mean God is not growing something beneath the surface.

John 12:24 (NASB 2020)
“Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Psalm 1:3 (NASB 2020)
“He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

Sometimes God is strengthening roots before we ever see new leaves.

What may look like loss or an ending can become the very place where God brings forth new life.

Another Season Is Coming

Fall does not last forever.

Neither does winter.

And spiritually, we should not expect every season of our lives to look the same.

Some seasons are for growing.

Some are for waiting.

Some are for letting go.

Some are for healing.

Some are for learning.

And some are for beginning again.

Whatever season you may find yourself in today, I pray that you remember this:

There is still beauty to be found.

There is still purpose.

There is still hope.

And most importantly, God is still present.

My prayer for each person reading this message is that our eyes and hearts remain open to Him even when we cannot yet see how the story will unfold.

May we trust Him in the seasons that make sense and in the seasons that do not.

When we feel weak — spiritually, emotionally, physically, or mentally — may we lean more deeply on Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

Lord, thank You for the beauty and goodness You continually place around us.

Help us recognize Your presence even during the seasons that feel bare.

Help us trust that just because something appears lifeless does not mean You are finished working.

And help us remember that another season is coming.

Galatians 6:9 (NASB 2020)
“Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.”

Amen.