If you sow your seed at the wrong time, you risk losing your harvest. Why? Because you didn’t recognise what season you were in. Are you in the season of small beginnings? If you are, God says, ‘Do not despise these small beginnings’ (Zechariah 4:10 NLT). The richness and stability that come from ‘small beginnings’ and gradual success are more lasting than the temperamental theatrics of those who have never learned their own vulnerabilities or developed a true sense of dependence on God. If you’re not sure what season you’re in, ask God. He does everything according to a set time and purpose. In the autumn you break up the ground, turn the sod, sow the seed, add the fertiliser, and look for the harvest next spring. In the meantime you wait, because the soil that has yielded so many of its nutrients is being replenished. The fertiliser that smells so bad is in the process of producing the highest quality crop. The root system that’s required for strong, healthy growth is being developed. Understand this: God gives you grace for the season you’re in – not the one you were once in, or the one you’d like to be in. When Paul said, ‘Be prepared in season and out of season,’ he recognised that he was in the winter of his ministry. That’s why he was pouring his knowledge into his successor, Timothy. Paul wasn’t resentful about the changing seasons. No, when his days as a player were over he simply became a coach. So ask God to show you what season you’re in and how to make it the most productive season of your life.