It seems that many things have seasons. There is football season, and basketball season, and baseball season. Then there’s planting season, and growing season, and harvesting season. We all are quite accustomed to thinking in terms of seasons.
Do you remember the story in which Jesus cursed the fig tree? He saw that the tree had leaves but didn’t have any figs. So Jesus cursed the tree and it withered up. Well, Jesus was using that to illustrate a similar problem with Israel. Israel was spiritually barren. She should have been bearing fruit for God, but in Jesus’ day, there was no fruit.
In Psalm 1:3, the Psalmist talks about the man who is blessed of God. He says, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season…” Notice that the blessed person is a person who is fruitful. That person is bearing the fruit of godliness (which is the fruit of the spirit), and that person is influencing others to godliness (which is the fruit of witness or ministry). But the text adds another little phrase. It says, “in its season.” Spiritually speaking, there are seasons of fruit-bearing.
The word “season” is the Hebrew word for time, and actually refers to the right time or the proper time. So there is a right time for planting and a proper time for harvesting, and those times are called seasons. A season is an appropriate time for a particular activity.
There was a certain time in my life where it seemed that God was no longer using me. I had had back surgery as well as financial reverses that caused me to seek secular employment for a time. It was a dormant season in my life. Yet God was building into my life spiritual experiences that would actually make me more fruitful later. You see, I have noticed that there are seasons of fruit-bearing as well as dormant seasons. But the important thing is to keep your eyes on the Lord. Then you will be like a tree that brings forth its fruit in its season.
Now you Know the real meaning of the word.
Remember – fruit-bearing is a seasonal thing. Don’t get upset if it doesn’t happen all of the time.