Change Your Perspective With Every Season

“…Put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17 NKJV

“To go up, you must go down” is a quote often used to explain why difficult life situations occur. A widely used analogy is how a tree must grow deep roots before it can shoot, or how the foundation of a building must be deep before the building can be erected.

Whenever things don’t go the way we want, we tell ourselves we’re on a downward slope and someday, very soon we’ll be back on track. But I don’t think that’s a valid perspective.

When plotting a basic chart, we use two parameters, and the angle of the slope is determined by those parameters. If the parameters are Income vs Time, then to have a steady upward slope means income grows over time.

If the parameters are Experience vs Income, then to have a steady upward slope means your experience grows as your income grows. The same thing applies if the parameters are Health vs Quality of Life.

We believe we’re on a downward slope because we constantly judge our growth by the same parameters all through life. If the most important thing to you is your income, then you’ll believe you’re going down when income doesn’t increase with time. But the truth is the parameters always change with seasons and if you’re sensitive enough to recognise the season you’re in and judge with the right parameters in that season, you’ll see that you’re constantly on a steady upward slope.

For example, if in the first three years of your career, your income constantly grew over time, you’re on an upward slope. Then when God requires that you build your capacity with the same income, He launches you into another season – a season whose parameters become Capacity vs Time. But your limited human mind uses the same old parameters (Income vs Time) to judge the new season, and this makes you see a downward slope. In God’s game plan, you’re on an upward slope because in that season, your capacity increases with time, all other factors staying constant.

We are all on a steady growth slope. But the parameters are always changing. Only those sensitive enough will recognise the new season and set their course accordingly. What season are you currently in? Are you using the same old parameters for the earlier season to judge this new one, or have you adjusted your perspective? Know one thing – you’re moving forward.