Richard Blackaby - The Seasons of God: How the Shifting Patterns of Your Life Reveal His Purposes for You

Praise for
The Seasons of God

Never! Now thats a big statement. However, I have never heard a better Bible teacher than Richard Blackaby. To say that I am excited about this new book is the understatement of the new millennium! Read with anticipation about the seasons of your life and be inspired to make the most of each.

J OHNNY H UNT , senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, GA

Time is both one of the worlds greatest resources and one of the most misused. Blackaby does a masterful job in showing how God has given us seasons of life to make the most of the time we have.

W ILL G RAHAM , executive director of the Billy Graham Training Center

God has uniquely gifted Richard with the ability to explain life in a way that is fascinating, enjoyable, and always eye-opening. This book will make you think. It will help you see God in everything from your crises to the mundane. Ultimately it will compel you to live your life with renewed fervency and joy.

H ENRY T. B LACKABY , author of Experiencing God

This book is one of those rare finds. Not only does it bring fresh insight to familiar scriptures, but it is also practical. This is a concept that will immediately change the way you view your circumstances and will help you redefine your outlook. The Seasons of God is written out of a deep well of wisdom drawn from experience, by an author willing to be authentic and transparent in his communication.

J ENNIFER K ENNEDY D EAN , author of Live a Praying Life and executive director of the Praying Life Foundation

I have worked with Richard Blackaby for a number of years and have been impressed by his ability to use compelling stories and images to communicate profound truths. In this new book he expertly describes how our lives flow through seasons. I am impressed with how Richard explains life in ways you may never have considered before. But most importantly, he demonstrates how you can thrive in every stage of your life. This is one of those books that can change the way you think and live.

D ICK S CHULTZ , executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (ret.) and executive director of the United States Olympic Committee (ret.)

The ebb and flow of life has a rhythm, best lived in step with God as our Creator and Sustainer. Reading this book will help you find His pace for the current season of your life. God is constant, life is constantly changing, and our perspective on both must continually mature to fully experience His best.

J EFF I ORG , president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary

In The Seasons of God, you will find yourself understanding in new ways why certain things work the way they do at certain times of life. Read this book slowly and keep it handy, because Blackaby gives a lot of theological, biblical, and practical understanding of how God works in every season. Youll want to refer to it the next time the weather changes in your own life.

M IKE G LENN , author of The Gospel of Yes and senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood, TN

In this helpful work Richard Blackaby coaches us all to see the seasons of our lives from Gods perspective and from that vantage point to anticipate the new things He might have in store. Richard draws inspiration and insight from his own personal pilgrimage shaped by the context of Gods living Word to produce a thoughtful blueprint for any stage of life. The Seasons of God will be a helpful book for those courageous enough to honestly follow God well in the next chapter of life.

J EFF C HRISTOPHERSON , vice president of the North American Mission Board and author of Kingdom Matrix

Sometimes we are so busy living the grind of daily life that we fail to step back and see things from a larger view. Knowing life comes in seasons can help us face those occasional hurricanes that seem to blast us off our path and can help us enjoy the warmth of the good days. Read this book, whatever season you find yourself in. Take time to reflect, to be encouraged, and to press on.

A LVIN L. R EID , professor of evangelism and student ministry, Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

With humor, wit, and wisdom, Richard Blackaby poses a most important question: Are you thriving or merely surviving in your current season of life? This book is rife with laughter, transparency, and spiritual insights. A refreshing, delightful read that, if taken to heart, could show us how to be truly happy in Jesus.

C ONNIE C AVANAUGH , speaker and author of From Faking It to Finding Grace and Following God One Yes at a Time

Whether youre in hard times or good, old age or youth, this book is sure to comfort, encourage, and enlighten. It will help you understand where youve been, fully embrace where you are, and prepare you for where youre going. Dont allow another season to race by without experiencing all that God has in store for your life.

D ANIEL B LACKABY , author of When Worlds Collide and Legend of the Book Keeper

The Seasons of God offers refreshing breezes for weary travelers journeying through life. Richards perspective will take followers of Christ to a deeper level of daily fulfillment and understanding of Gods heart for His people.

K IMBERLY S OWELL , founder of Kingdom Heart Ministries and author of Journey to Significance

No matter what type of book youre looking foror for whatever area or stage of your lifeyou just found it. Read this book!

R ICK O SBORNE , best-selling author and coauthor with Dr. Gary Chapman, Larry Burkett, and Dr. John Trent

T HE S EASONS OF G OD
P UBLISHED BY M ULTNOMAH B OOKS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Copyright 2012 by Richard Blackaby

Cover design by Kelly L. Howard

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

M ULTNOMAH and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blackaby, Richard, 1961
The seasons of God : how the shifting patterns of your life reveal his purposes for you / Richard Blackaby. 1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-60142-418-1
1. SeasonsReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Christian life. I. Title.