“He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings…” – Daniel 2:21

Early last week, the authorities released a press statement indicating that this is the final week for planting in Uganda.

Farmers were advised that the season for planting (my favourite time of the year) has now ended and they should not plant their seed if they want to avoid losses when the dry season starts in a few weeks’ time.

In the northern hemisphere, the Autumn season, which followed the Summer, will soon give way to the Winter season before Spring starts. 

We all have our different favourite seasons but one thing is for sure, seasons will always come and go, and every season (including the ones we don’t fancy) are important for the sustenance of life on this wonderful planet.

In Genesis 8:22, God promised Noah that until the end of time, there would be times and seasons of planting and harvest and of day and night; that He would uphold the rhythms of the earth so as to sustain human life in perpetuity.

Indeed, the agriculture industry is only possible because people have understood the right time to plant and harvest their crops.

That’s why climate change, which is affecting seasonality, is a big worry for humanity.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God reprimanded His people for not knowing the seasons, yet mere migratory birds – using their instincts – are able to understand “their appointed times” for migrating and when to return home (see Jeremiah 8:7).  

Our Lord Jesus also reproved the Jews for looking at the clouds and knowing it is going rain and not being able to know the timing for the coming of the Messiah.

In our meditation today, we reflect on Daniel’s confession that the seasons and times are solely in the hands of the Almighty God.

‘Times’ in this context, refers to the duration of time (chronos) – the ‘how long’ part of time.  

On the other hand, seasons’ (kairos) denotes the appointed, fixed, and set time or period.  It is the ‘when’ part of time.

Like the chilling wintery conditions must always give way to the Spring then Summer, the seasons are also changing for you.  The appointed season of harvest has come! Don’t let it pass you by.

Acts 17:26 shows that there are seasons that have been pre-arranged by God for individuals and nations.

We can do nothing to change seasonality, our role is to discern the appropriate times and seasons.

At a pivotal moment for the nation when the baton was about to pass from King Saul to the younger David, there were men from the tribe of Issachar, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

That means that only when we understand the times can we know what to do in order not to miss the season.

Clearly, the passing away of Uganda’s leading political and economic ideologues over the last three years is a clear indication of an irreversible change of season on the political landscape in our nation.

It’s all clear for the discerning eyes to see.

On the spiritual front, the humid breeze that is blowing in the air is a clear sign of the imminent ‘kairos’ moment in the Church when the mantle will fall from ‘grandfathers’ to the ‘young Turks with pregnant wives.’

And like the chilling wintery conditions must give way to Spring then Summer, the seasons are also changing for you. 

The appointed season of harvest has come! Don’t let it pass you by.

Prayer:

Almighty God, I believe you’ve got the whole world in your hands. You do appoint the times and the seasons for individuals and nations. Help me to understand my season and to be keen on what I am supposed to do while in it. For the glory of your Name, Amen!