I’ve always been interested in seasons and cycles. As an Iowa farm girl, I’m tuned into the seasons of planting and harvest, growth and rest. As an OB-GYN, I’m all about a woman’s cycles and how they affect every decade of life.

Humans also have seasons in life and though each season may seem quite different from another, we all ask the same major questions: How will I contribute to society and who will I share my life with? The answers to these questions shift from decade to decade and the changes can often create anxiety and apprehension, leading many of us to search for resources to help us navigate life.

This search has led to a whole industry springing up to help us answer these major life questions, from lifestyle podcasts to life coaches, to your well-meaning but clearly clueless Uncle Stanley!

Paul offers the best guidance for finding the solution to our uncertainty in the first chapter of Ephesians. He writes: “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.” (Ephesians 1:11, MSG).

Paul points us to the source – we begin to understand who we are and what is worth living for when we trust in Jesus and model our lives after him. In fact, Paul prays that God would, “…make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do …”. (Ephesians 1:17-18, MSG).

God wants us to use our intelligence (our heads), have a relationship with Jesus (our hearts), and keep our eyes focused on Jesus. When we do this, we can begin to answer the big “who” and “what” questions. We’re promised “…this glorious way of life he has for his followers…” (Ephesians 1:18 MSG).

That’s a promise for every season!

Questions for reflection:

  1. What season of life are you in? What big questions are you asking in this current season?
  2. Where do you turn for advice when you are wrestling with a big life question? Which sources have been the most helpful in the past?
  3. How could learning more about Jesus and trusting in him help you navigate these life questions?