“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?”
Job 38:31
Seasons. As surely as spring follows winter and fall follows summer the seasons roll by. It has been this way since God created the world. In the ancient days of the Bible, it was absolutely necessary for farmers of those times to determine the current season in order to reap the greatest amount of healthy crops. Back then, without written calendars, farmers focused on the positions of constellations in the night sky to determine the changing seasons. The brilliance or dimness of stars in the heavens depended on the earth’s orbit and the locale of the observer. Farmers counted on knowing the times of the seasons in order to know when to sow and when to harvest.
While Job, a farmer among other things, is suffering with all his recent struggles and battles, God explains to him what’s happening. God asks him, “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?” He is asking Job if he has the slightest ability to alter the position of the stars in the sky. God is making the point that what is impossible for Job is easy for God. But, He was also indicating something else.
In a subtle way God is letting Job know that seasons come and seasons go. When did Orion’s stars shone brightest to the farmers where Job lived? January and February. The winter. Certainly, Job was going through the winter of his life. It couldn’t get any worse for him. The Lord was telling Job that he cannot quicken the days of winter. Job could do nothing to alter this winter season. He had to go through it, just like you and I in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes it is winter and winter is just long, dark and cold
But what inevitably follows winter? Yes, spring! The stars of Pleiades shine brightest in mid April, the new days of spring. God asked Job if he could “bind . . . Pleiades.” To bind something is to keep it from coming about, or hinder it. God was asking Job if he could keep the stars of spring from shining. Of course not! No one can stop a new day dawning!
Everyday, I speak with people going through tough times. I remind them that they will face all the seasons of life if they live long enough. It’s just a matter of understanding that seasons come and the seasons go. You can’t let difficulties destroy you. You just have to make it to spring time, or to morning, or to home. When you’re in the middle of the winter, look ahead to the spring because the spring is coming. Remember that life has its cycles as surely as the stars shine in the heavens. You can’t hurry through a season nor cut it short.
And don’t forget that you can sip hot chocolate by a fire in the winter! That’s right, because it is often in winter that you are closest to God. As the seasons change, allow these thoughts to remind you that God is the One who brings about the changes and He will absolutely bring you through each season in victory!
Today’s Prayer
