What Are You Carrying into the Next Season? - The Crosswalk Devotional - October 16

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What Are You Carrying into the Next Season?
By: Lia Girard

Bible Reading:
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding. - Proverbs 4:7 (NIV)

As a Christian, I'm very familiar with the truth that Jesus’ yoke is light. That taking his teachings to heart and living by them is liberating. He offers each of us the continual opportunity to cast our cares on him and trust him for the outcome. I know this can relieve me of weighty mental and spiritual burdens. 

Yet I still have to make myself stop and take inventory. Because I can collect a lot of worries along my way. I can wind up choosing to carry around some unnecessary things season after season, or year after year ... because I haven't learned to let go of their memory. What’s more, their buildup can start to control the way I’m living now. 

Have you ever noticed this habit in yourself? It’s natural. Each of us accumulates experiences that wind up causing a multitude of effects in our lives and hearts. However, thanks to new mercies, tomorrow is always a new day, and a new year is always ahead. 

Wherever and however you live, you may encounter seasons when it feels right to examine your life spiritually and physically to prepare for the months ahead. In any of these time passages, you may decide to declutter your home, your calendar, your perspective, or your heart. Even though life up to now may have cost you time, money, or peace, Proverbs 4:7 advises that the best thing to bring forward with you is the wisdom you find in it all. 

This isn’t to say you can’t own boxes of seasonal decorations or keep special items. It’s to encourage you to explore what might be weighing you down, and then decide what you’ll carry. Parsing through all you’ve gathered seasonally is a practical way to discern wisdom. You can then lay things of the past at the feet of Jesus, and move forward enlightened.

You can also look to the book of Proverbs for direction. A large portion of this treasury was authored by King Solomon to teach us the value of wisdom. He asserts that wisdom is “the principal thing” to gain in life and urges it above all else. 

I find it interesting that a leader who likely had amassed a family and a comfortable life doesn’t advise you and me to hold on to things, riches, or regrets. In fact, he says that wisdom is worth the cost of all you have. Throughout Proverbs 4, King Solomon explains that the wisdom you gain (otherwise known as the valuable lessons that are maturing you) can guard your heart, keep you on the right path, and protect you from ruin. 

So, what has this past season taught you about what you value most? Have there been special places, people, or purchases that have entered your life or continue to shape you? Have you noticed a habit or commitment that’s making a positive impact? What does all of this show you about what kind of life brings you peace, and what kind of person you desire to be? 

As you look forward to what’s next on your calendar, I hope you make time to answer questions like these for yourself. And then you can, as Proverbs 4:25 advises, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you,” and keep on learning.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

As a new season approaches, consider these ideas:

• Mark off time to bring your past burdens to God in prayer and ask for His wisdom
• Pencil a decluttering day on your calendar and donate at least one physical item from your life that no longer serves you and could serve someone in need
• Try to articulate the lesson learned from a hard season and commit to holding on to the wisdom, not the worry
• List three things, blessings, or relationships that you truly love and thank God for them
• Make yourself a promise to spend a little less money on purchases and a little more time with people who need you, including yourself 

Further Reading:
Isaiah 43:18-19
2 Corinthians 5:17
Romans 12:2
Philippians 3:13-14

How did today’s devotional speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Crosswalk Devotional discussion.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/CalinStan 

Lia Girard is a seasoned writer, poet, and voice artist who formerly served as Faith Editor for Crosswalk.com and currently co-hosts the "Your Daily Prayer" podcast on Lifeaudio. She also shares her nature-inspired poetry on Instagram @wildpeace.poetry, and offers peaceful reflections on healing and hope through her “Heart of a Wildflower” podcast. Lia enjoys life with her husband and grown children, and walking in the woods with God.

Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com! 

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