“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1

Are you living well?

Actually. Right now. At this moment, are you living well? 

I’m not asking whether your season is difficult or easy. I’m not wondering if you’re feeling comfortable or pinched. I’m asking a different question entirely. I want you to consider how well or rightly or appropriately you’re tackling the season you’re in right now. 

I’m asking you because that’s what this verse has been asking me. It’s been poking at me, declaring that I’m not the boss of my life. God is. And when my seasons shift abruptly (even in shocking ways), what will I do? Will I honor God with every season he gives me? Will I live well? But even more importantly…am I living well now? 

Ok. It’s a hard question, so I’ll go first. 

After much wrestling with this verse, I’ve pieced together a picture of my own season, and it’s a season of uncertainty. I’ve asked and asked for clarity, for the right “door” to walk through. Instead I’ve found myself in a long, unfamiliar hallway filled with endless doors, each one labeled with a promise of some hope such as “ease” or “control” or “wealth” or “success.” Yet when I open each door, the room is empty, save a mirror. Instead of finding ease, I see the laziness in me. Instead of gaining control, I find my own mistrust. Instead of wealth, greed. Instead of success, self-glorification. God has certainly answered my prayer for clarity, just not as I’d hoped. He hasn’t shown me a clear path. Rather, he’s been clearing the path in my heart, revealing my false motivations and deceitful longings. And this painful process is the point. All this clarity about myself has been preparing me (I hope) to clearly see the right door that he will reveal in his good time. 

Here’s what I’ve learned: “Living well” in this uncertain season looks like introspection and waiting and receiving what I haven’t asked for, but most desperately needed.  

Now it’s your turn. What about you? Are you living well in your season?

Maybe, like me, you’re in a season of uncertainty. Are you seeking wise counsel, inviting trusted believers into your situation? Are you praying (and even fasting), asking the Holy Spirit to reveal what God has for you, even if it isn’t what you’re asking for? If this is your season, how can you wait well, trusting God’s plan in the unknown?

Maybe you’re in a season where you simply cannot do the things you’d like to be doing. Are you letting people in and asking for help—allowing friends to surround you and support you and pray for you? Are you finding your contentment in the Lord, asking him to show you what he’s teaching you in this barren time? If this is you, what’s one step you could take to entrust yourself to God and his people in this time?

Maybe none of that sounds like you at all. Maybe you’re having a particularly easy time of it. Here’s a hard question for you: are you rejoicing rightly? Are you giving thanks to God and sharing your time and blessings with others? Or are you maybe overdoing it or hoarding your blessings? How can you prioritize connecting with God and others in this time of abundance?

Maybe your season is marked with loss or sadness. Are you mourning well? Are you crying out to God and allowing him to comfort you? Are you letting others mourn with you, sharing in your sadness and holding you up in the true hope of the Lord? Or have you lost yourself in despair or isolation? What’s one step you could take today to move towards God and his people?

These are just a couple of examples of seasons we find ourselves in. Whatever your season, are you living well in it? I’d encourage you to spend some time in prayer and reflection, asking God to reveal what “living well” looks like in your season. 

Indeed, “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” If you keep reading in the passage, you find this wonderful promise to ground your heart: “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ephesians 3:11). May this truth give you great courage to live well in whatever season you find yourself, knowing that God will make all things beautiful in your life and in the world in his good time. 

I’d love to chat more with you about what it looks like to live well and trust God with the season you’re in. You can do just that by listening to this week’s podcast episode where I’ll share more insights and stories with you.