Shine In Your Season.

By Dr. John Maxwell

Ecclesiastes 3:3 ‘To everything there is a season and a
time to every purpose under the heaven.’
You cannot harvest life's rewards without first planting
seeds.
Yet many people want to spend their entire lives in the
harvest season. It just doesn't happen.
Each of us is responsible for managing the seasons of our
lives.
We have all been given seeds i.e. Potential And
Opportunities; Time And Chance, Talents And Treasures.
Proverbs 12:11 ‘He who tills his land shall be satisfied with
bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits is lacking in
sense and is without understanding.’
Farmers know that beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and corn,
can be grown side by side.
Yet they are harvested at different times.
Likewise, we must recognize that we may be in one
season of family life, a different season of spiritual life,
and yet another of leadership life.
1
We must do what's right for the season in each area and
do things in order, if we want to eventually see harvests in
life.
Ecclesiastes 3:3 ‘There is a Time for everything and a
season for every activity under the heavens.’
Many people fail because they are out of sync with the time
and place in their seasons of life.
Sometimes their failure has nothing to do with
determination or willingness, but comes from their
efforts being out of proper sequence.
When this happens, they become frustrated and may begin
to believe that's impossible for them to achieve anything
significant, and that leads to discouragement.
Everyone can reap a rewarding harvest according to
their ability, but they must learn to do the right thing at the
appropriate time.
Doing the right thing at the wrong time is doing the wrong
thing.
Every phase of life isn't the same, nor should we try to
make it that way.
Ideally, a person's life should follow a pattern where the
main focus goes from Learning To Earning To Returning.
2
 Learning.
When you're young, your focus should be on:
1. Exploring Your Talents.
2. Discovering Your Purpose.
3. Learning Your Trade.
For many people, this phase occurs during their Teens and
Twenties-although a few trailblazers do it earlier and
some Late Bloomers don't have things worked out until
well into their Thirties (Or Later).
The Exact Timing Isn't Important.
What matters is that you accept that there is a phase of
life where learning is your primary objective and that you
shouldn't take shortcuts to financial gain and miss the big
picture of your life.
Earn.
If you’re on track with your Purpose, you've learned your
trade well, and you practice it with Excellence, the hope is
that you will be able to earn a Good Living.
Obviously, your choice of profession impacts your
earning power greatly.

3
For many people, the season when their earning is most
effective occurs during their thirties, forties, and fifties.
During this phase of life, you will strive to take care of
your family and prepare for your future.
Return.
We should always try to be generous no matter our age.
But if you've worked hard and planned well, you may
enter a phase of life that is most rewarding, where you
can focus on giving back to others.
Most often, what occurs when people are in when people
are their 60s 70s and beyond.
Obviously these phases are generalizations, but they
present a pattern for which to strive.
If you are young, then you may be eager to leave the
learning phase. Be patient, because the more diligently you
go after phase one, the greater your potential to
maximize the other phases.
If you're older, and you didn't lay a good foundation for
yourself, don't despair-Keep learning and growing.
You still have a chance to finish well.
But if you give up, you'll never go up.
What Season Are You In?
4