In our quest for spiritual and emotional freedom, we, as Christians, must break free from the incarceration of doubt and fear. We must embrace the autumn winds as they carry away the old, leaving room for the new—trusting not just in God but in His trust in us.
Trees gracefully shed their leaves in autumn, daylight wanes, and nature readies itself for the long nights ahead. This is a time of transition—a season that invites reflection and preparation for the coming changes.
As the cool winds sweep through and daylight recedes, consider the seeds sown during the warmth of summer. Autumn becomes the season of reaping, a moment to witness the outcomes of earlier efforts. It’s a time of introspection, where we move into something new, accepting transition as an inevitable part of life’s journey.
The trials are not meant to instil anxiety but to challenge and refine us. Much like the story of Abraham in Genesis 22:1, where God tested him by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, our autumn may involve instructions that take time to be fulfilled.
Transition requires leaving things behind, much like the donkey and servants left behind in Abraham’s journey. We must recognise that we are becoming a new creation—shedding the old to welcome the new.
God tests us with what we hold closest to our hearts, examining the weight of our sacrifices, just as He did with Abraham and Isaac.
Our actions, more than our words, reveal our trust in God. Abraham’s obedience and trust in letting go of Isaac exemplify a profound faith. We, too, must learn to trust and surrender, presenting our Isaacs—the things we hold dear—to God. This season prompts a self-reflective journey to identify and surrender the treasures that may hinder our spiritual progress.
In creating an altar of worship, we take stock of our lives. What are the motives of our hearts? What will God find when He scrutinises our innermost desires? Autumn invites us to identify the Isaacs in our lives, recognising that if God can trust us with unrighteous mammon, He can trust us with righteous wealth.
Gen 12:1
Genesis 22:1
Psalms 23:6
Ecclesiastes 3:1,6,11-14
2nd Corinthians 5:17
Philippians 4:6-7