The Reason For The Season...

The closing lines of the film ‘Shine’, (telling the life of pianist David Helfgott who suffers a mental breakdown after entering a competition to play an infamous piano Concerto) bring us a timely reminder.  Helfgott repeats in a characteristic high paced repetition “You’ve got to know the reason for the season, You’ve got to know the reason for the season, You’ve got to know the reason for the season”.

Have you ever stopped to imagine the devastation and catastrophe of mans first encounter with Autumn and Winter?  What had happened?  It was all going wrong!  We must fix it!  Bob! The world is broken. 

Then Spring; ‘phew, it’s all OK again’. 

Then the long happy summer confirms everything is flourishing and back to normal again – we’ve fixed it, nature has fixed itself properly.  Can you imagine the dilemma then of the second Autumn?! 'Oh no, –  I thought we’d fixed it, and now its going wrong again?’  Probably it was not until five seasons later that it was realised that actually this might be how life flows and cycles – and it’s how God made the world.  Ebs and flows.

In a disheartening way with decline and change, for many CLC may well have felt a bit like this in recent times!  But I just want to say it’s OK and that God’s gracious hand has been at work. 

We recently received a prophecy from Mark Iles who is part of a church we have friendhsip with in Southampton, who knows a little of what we have been walking through, but not in great detail.  It’s an illustration of a boat – and it’s really assuring.

Back on Sunday 8th March in our morning meeting something triggered among us that signalled a  note of change in the season for us.  It invigorates us to announce to those locally and to our treasured global partners – CLC Cambridge is going to sail again! 

Marks prophesy spoke as this…

“I believe God has given me a picture to help explain the current season of your church. The church is fishing boat that has successfully sailed up the river, down the estuary, through coastal waters and is now heading out to deep water.

 

However, God has recently intervened and quite suddenly and unexpectedly lowered the anchor, which has brought the vessel to an abrupt halt. This has caused confusion in the church, some crew have been injured and the leaders are trying to understand what has happened.

 

God has done this for your own protection and safety. While the fishing vessel is on the right course, speaking of its destiny, and it has successfully navigated the river, estuary and coastal waters, it is dangerously heading into deep water it is not equipped for. It is simply not equipped for the storms or violent seas that can be experienced in such deep waters, the navigation equipment required or the requirements of an extended voyage.

Mark Iles

Can you relate to this?

Listen to the podcast from Sunday 8^th March for a fuller context to the reason for the season.