Seasons
“A word in season, how good it is!” Proverbs 15:23
Not everyone is fortunate enough to experience all four seasons in full force. In Minneapolis, it is true, old Jack Frost mayhaps overstay his welcome at times, but we are at least favored with real winter, and, more to the point, real fall.
The turning of the seasonal tides always reminds me of an old Nas lyric:
In a Lex watchin Kathie Lee and Regis
My actions are one with the seasons
You may hate all things pumpkin spice (it is, after all, that time of year) but, I daresay you can at least appreciate the love of things that are in step with the season. A fireside hot chocolate is out of season in July, but most delicious in December. One can hardly think of frosty lemonade in the haunts of January’s strength, but is there anything more refreshing in the blast of August’s humidity?
Well, when it comes to seasons, there is nothing so fitting as a word in season. What is a word in season? The first line of our verse offers some help: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man” (Proverbs 15:23). The idea is that of an answer when it is needed. Thinking of what you might have said after the fact is no use at all, at least not to that conversation. It is the word in the moment, the fitting word, the answering word, that carries most weight, that is most good.
The Lord is faithful to send us words in season, or, to put it another way, at the times when we need them most. A good book is always good, but a good book read in season becomes nearly inspired. The same is true of sermons and even words from other believers. If you’ve been walking with Christ for any amount of time, I’m sure you have experienced this and can exclaim with Solomon, How good it is!
But, is there any way to improve our chances, so to speak, of finding words in season? There is, and it is really very simple. We must fill our hearts and minds with Scripture now. For, you see, if you have God’s word at the fingertips of your heart, the appropriate word will always be ready to present itself. We may even think of this as a way of taking dominion, ahead of time, over the various seasons of our lives.