What Will You Do With Your Summer?

Summer is now in full swing and people are taking advantage of it! These months provide the opportunity for many people to “get away.” This can be a very good thing…or it can become a sad detour. I have seen so many people in these seasons go into vacation mode in their spiritual lives! There is a difference between healthy distractions that refresh and renew and unhealthy ones that become a pitiful substitute for God’s best.

Distractions are everywhere. We must be determined to serve God in every season. When the summer is done I want to be further along on my journey with Jesus – not trying to find my way back.

Recently I have been meditating on Proverbs 10:5, “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” Our Heavenly Father wants all of His children to be wise! Consider this principle in relationship to our own season…

1. Summer is a season for FERVENCY.

Literally, summer is a time for labor! This is not the day for less work; it is the day to intensify our efforts in reaching people for Christ. Notice in Solomon’s contrast that the opposite of fervent labor is sleep. We are either wide awake and alert to what God is doing in this world or we are sleeping through the harvest.

2. Summer is a season for FRUITFULNESS.

In the agricultural world of the Bible, people understood seedtime and harvest. Harvest is near the end. We are living in the last days and soon the work will be over. This is our moment to “gather” as many souls as possible for the Master. Sin scatters – God gathers. Our lives are doing one or the other.

3. Summer is a season that will not last FOREVER.

It is only a season…an all too short one! The prophet Jeremiah lamented that at the end of such a season, his own people still were not saved, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). May God help us to make these days count and not miss what He has for us!

4. Summers is a season for which we will answer to the FATHER.

The tone of the verse is a family tone. Not an employer speaking to a servant, but a father and son relationship. As surely as earthly children can shame their fathers, God’s children can bring shame to the Heavenly Father. What will we say when we meet the Father? More importantly, what will He say?

How To Make This The Greatest Summer Of Your Life

Everyone looks forward to summer. Students will tell you that summer begins the moment they are out of school. For adults, summer doesn’t seem to begin until you leave work for that first day of vacation. It means something different to everyone but almost everyone (except for pastors!) will tell you they love this time of year.

Summer is one of the most anticipated and one of the most wasted seasons of the whole year. The warm months are often a time of sloth and spiritual retreat when they could be an opportunity for growth. The vacation mentality too easily permeates every part of our lives and instead of resting we retreat.

Fast-forward three months from the beginning of summer…Where do you want to be spiritually? What shape would you like your home to be in? When the cool air of fall returns what will you wish you had done with the middle of your year?

Allow today to be a new beginning. Make this the greatest summer of your life!

1. Change up your devotional time.

Vance Havner said that a rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out of it – it is death! Start a fresh Bible reading schedule. Choose a special prayer emphasis for the summer. Memorize a passage of Scripture. Do not approach your time with God in a mundane way.

2. Stay faithful to church.

More people drop out of church in the summer than at any other time of year. You should not take a vacation from God or from meeting with His people. Stay active in your local church. Find a church to attend when you are away on vacation. Give priority to God’s work.

3. Seek to reach someone for Christ this summer.

Ask the Lord to give you some soul to bring to Jesus. Gospel opportunities abound in the summer. People are out in their yards and in public places. Every place you go is a mission field and every person you meet is in need of Christ. The most exciting thing you will do all summer is see someone trust Christ as their Savior!

4. Spend extra time with your family.

While the kids are out of school make the most of the time together. Soon it will be gone. Plan a day trip. Eat a picnic lunch. Throw the ball with your son. Ride bikes. Whatever you do, be together! Enjoy your family. Do not allow the summer to be all about you.

5. Get outside.

Our media-driven culture has tied us to the large screens on our walls and the small screens in our pockets. Take a walk. Watch the wildlife. Sit on the porch and watch the sun come up. Enjoy God’s creation.

6. Set some personal goals.

Begin the exercise you keep talking about. Read the book you have just looked at in the last six months. Accomplish something definite.

Do Not Let this Summer Slip Away

Summer is a time for vacation, but it is also a time for work. It is a fruit-bearing season that must not be missed. May God help us to be nearer to God and further on our journey when the summer ends than we are today. Pause and ask the Lord to help you stay close to Him and in pursuit of His will this summer. Make this the greatest summer of your life!

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).