Tag: new season

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A few weeks ago, I lost something dear to me. It’s trivial really, I lost my gym locker token which I’ve had for ten years. Despite not being worth much in monetary value, it has great sentimental value as it supports a charity that is local to where I live and has connections with my children. I was quite annoyed that it had disappeared and was surprised to feel sad about it. I searched everywhere but couldn’t find it, and eventually I became resigned to the fact that it was gone.  

This morning, I got in the car to drive to work and as I put my bag down on the the passenger seat, I could see something metallic poking out from the back of the seat: there nestled in the crease was my token! I’ve no idea how it got there; the last time I saw it was on the counter in my kitchen.  

As I picked the token and put it back in my purse, I felt the Lord say that what has been lost or stolen from my life will be restored to me; even things that seem insignificant or too small to be important will come back to me in time. Having been through decades of unexpected loss, this gave me great hope that the Lord is in the process of bringing change and restoration.  

I then saw a picture of two number eights next to each other. Biblically the number eight means new life, and two of them signifies double new life. I immediately thought of Job 42:10 (NIV): 

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”  

In the Old Testament, Job experienced great loss: he lost his health, wealth and children but he never lost his love for God and his willingness to follow him not matter how hard his life circumstances were. Job’s character was tested when his friends didn’t understand or help him; even God was angry with the way his friends lacked hope for his situation. However, Job had faith that God would restore his life and at the end of the book we’re told that when Job prayed for his friends, God restored everything he had lost by double the amount.  

I sense that many of us are coming to the end of hard seasons and trials. We may have lost a lot, but we have learnt plenty that will be useful for the season ahead. The Lord will restore double what we have lost and use what we have learnt to bring good in both our and others lives. The key to this double restoration is that we pray for those who have hurt us and forgive them. As we release these people and situations to the Lord, change will occur in unusual ways. Just as the token somehow made its way to my car, restoration will occur through people and places that we haven’t expected.  

As this season draws to a close, it’s time get our houses in order, release those who have wronged us and prepare ourselves for the double restoration that is coming to us. What was lost will be found again! 

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It’s that time when I ask the Lord for a prophetic word to focus on for the year. There has been a recurring theme over the last few weeks of a new thing and newness; this has been echoed in a Bible verse that I have received many times, Isaiah 43:18-19:

18 Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

I sense that 2025 is a year to let go of the past and embrace the new things that the Lord is bringing to our attention. The time of dismantling that has taken place over the last 5 years is over; it’s been a period of preparation and training for what’s to come. There are new projects, adventures, places and people coming to us. A time of opportunity and creating something new. Not rebuilding things from the past, but building from scratch; something fresh and much needed for a generation who have walked through a tough season. We will be anointed with a creativity that connects with those who are ready to hear the gospel, that speaks truth and love, and brings lasting change. 

These new opportunities will spring up from nowhere, but we will need to be focused on God so that we see what he is doing. A deeper relationship with the Lord is needed, so that we aren’t sidetracked by distractions. It’s easy to go off course when everything seems exciting and different. 

In verse 18 of the Isaiah passage, we are reminded to forget the former things. If we cannot let go of the past, we will struggle to walk into our future. There may be things holding us back that we aren’t aware of, so it’s important to ask the Lord what needs to be left in the past. By letting go of things that are no longer fruitful, there is room for God to work in our lives and situations so that he can bring the new. 

And finally, verse 19 reminds us that the Lord creates a way where we cannot see a way forward. He creates a path through the mess and rubble of our lives to bring us the new things he has planned for us. No situation is too hard for him to bring change. This means that we need to be open to what the Lord has for us and open to the change. It may come in ways that we don’t expect, it may not look the way we think it should, but it will bring the newness we desire and lead us into greater things. So this year, step into the new…

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A Prophetic Word For 2024: Let Loose 

Every December I ask the Lord for a word or theme for the coming year; something that will focus my thoughts and prayers as I cross over into the new. This year the Lord gave me a prophetic word not just for me but for many others too. As always do prayerfully weigh up this word and test it.  

Many of us have had a difficult season over the last few years; we have watched the death of dreams and hopes, lost relationships, and let go of career, business and job aspirations and taken unplanned detours. For me, this has been a ten year journey of transition between the old and new seasons, walking an unknown path and leaving behind things that I hoped for. However, the Lord often asks us to surrender to his will and let go of things that are no longer fruitful so that he can prepare us for the new season ahead, and ultimately new, greater fruitfulness. We have found ourselves in constrictive situations where our callings have been limited for a season, but this been part of the preparation. The last season has felt like death as we have been deeply pruned, we have laid low in the grave waiting for our resurrection.  

In September last year, I felt the Lord say that the season of death was coming to an end and that I would be “let loose” from the pruning and preparation. Let loose is quite an old-fashioned way of saying set free or released. It reminded me of the story of Lazarus in John 11 where Jesus brings raises him from the dead, “Loose him, and let him go” (verse 44); in other words, step out of the grave clothes and live again. I believe this is a powerful call to many of us to rise out of our dead situations and live again.  

I have been waiting for many years to see God move in certain areas of my life, and I believe that the season of God’s wonder working power is here. Just as Jesus said “Lazarus come out”, he is also speaking resurrection life to us. For Mary and Martha, their life with their brother had become a dead dream, but Jesus brought that dream back to life. I believe that Jesus is releasing resurrection power to bring dead dreams and hopes back to life for his glory. Everything in our lives can be transformed by a miracle that reveals who God is to those around us.  

God is calling us out of the tomb, and to thrive as he resurrects our dreams and hopes. He is letting us loose to do the things that he has called us to do. Now is the time to be free, now is the time to be LET LOOSE.  

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A few weeks ago, Paul Gibbs from NoteSpire radio interviewed me about faith and being creative. We discussed using life experiences in our songwriting in order to help others, the post creatives blues, creating the Thaw painting and the role of music teaching. We also talked about my song I Won’t Rush You which you can find here.

NoteSpire radio is based in the USA in York, Pennsylvania, so we had challenge with the time difference, and the interview was recorded at midnight here in England. However I was wide awake!

The interview is being broadcast live on the radio station from Wednesday 7 June, however it is also available as a podcast to listen to now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all main podcast sites. Grab and a cup of tea and enjoy!

Listen here

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Painting: Thaw by Helen Sanderson-White (Copyright 2023 Helen Sanderson-White. Do not reproduce without permission). 

A few months ago, I was asked to create some artwork for an exhibition that my church is hosting in Holy Week entitled The Journey. Over the last ten years I have been on a journey. It has taken me through many low valleys, difficult circumstances and tested my character to the hilt. I survived domestic abuse, divorce, the loss of a career, the death of many friends and the list goes on… What kept me going was the fact that at some point this season would come to an end. The Lord made me a promise in the autumn of 2013, that if I walked with him through this difficult time, the new season of singing for joy would eventually come. That new season has taken a decade to materialise.  

Just before Christmas I was sat at the piano working on some new song ideas, when I sensed that the Lord was saying the word “thaw” and he gave me the verses from Song of Songs 2:11-12: 

See! The winter is past; 
    the rains are over and gone. 
Flowers appear on the earth; 
    the season of singing has come… 

I immediately I had an image of a garden thawing out after a freezing season covered in snow. Everything changed from frozen to flourishing, and there was a vibrancy to the new colours that were shining through in the spring sunshine. A new season has begun after a long, dark winter; life is sweeter in the newly revealed season. I wasn’t sure about the image so asked the Lord for confirmation that I really was leaving the long, dark season and that change is coming. Twelve hours later I got it! I was in a prayer meeting later the same day when someone had a picture for me of a winter snow scene that suddenly turns to spring and a beautiful garden is revealed! 

So why has it taken so long for the season to change? Firstly, the Lord is always working on our character; we need to be God-built so that we can carry the new things he has for us. If he promoted us before our character is strong enough, it would crush us. Secondly, sometimes the Lord has to position us for the new to begin. This may mean stepping out and doing something scary or leaving things behind that are no longer fruitful. All of this takes time and obedience before we are in the right place at the right time. 

In the painting, I wanted to reflect the ice from the last season melting away to reveal the new season’s beautiful garden with new, fresh flowers and fruit to enjoy. Although we can’t see what the future holds, we know that God’s hope does not disappoint and that he is always moving in our lives. Difficult seasons come to an end, and bright futures begin.  

The best is yet to come.  

The exhibition is free to view at Gold Hill Baptist Church, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks from Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th April 2023 from 9am-8pm and Wednesday 5th April 2.30-8pm.UPDATE

UPDATE: In 2025 I released a piece of music to accompany this painting. To find out more, click here.

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Tonight (25.9.22) Rosh Hashanah begins: the Jewish new year 5783, a fresh start and reset in the spiritual calendar. This morning while I was driving to church, I saw a massive cross that the clouds had made in the centre of the sky. At first I dismissed it and thought that it was just a lovely cloud formation but seven miles down the road the cross was still in front of my car as though it was fixed in the sky. At that moment the Lord said to me 

 “the cross was the ultimate breakthrough”.  

I knew that this was a sign for us in this new spiritual year, that the Lord is creating breakthrough in our lives personally and corporately. Just as the cross made a way for us to have a relationship with Christ, the Lord is making a way for us to move into a new season in communion with him. Obstacles that have blocked our way are being overturned, restoration of lost seasons and relationships will begin and there will be a resurrection of dead hopes and dreams.  

In accordance with Ecclesiastes 3:1, the times and seasons are changing. Last Friday was the autumn equinox and we entered a new season in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Here in the UK, we have experienced a physical shift from the reign of Elizabeth II to Charles III; this was not only a seasonal change but a shift into a whole new era. I and others have sensed that we are about to experience many changes in society and across the world; some of this new era will not be easy and there will further unrest to come, but I believe that the Lord was reminding me that the cross offers us protection for a new season and ventures. Whatever happens around us in the world, if we look to the Lord for guidance and strength, we will experience the Lord’s protection. By living in faith that he is with us, we reject the fear that the world is living in. Whenever we feel afraid, we should focus on the breakthrough of the cross.  

A few months ago, I heard the Lord say “anointing for change”. This new season requires a new anointing to carry us through to our Promised Land. When we commission people for God’s work, we traditionally anoint them with the sign of the cross on their foreheads. Isaiah 10:27 tells us that 

“and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil…” 

I believe that the Lord is anointing us for breakthrough to destroy the chains of the last season that have been binding us; this includes everything from relational, emotional, physical and spiritual chains. The anointing that Jesus carried enabled him to give us the ultimate breakthrough through the cross. I sense that he wants us to ask him for the anointing that changes circumstances for the better. Our lives are to be a living testimony of God’s goodness; as the anointing breaks out in our lives, it will attract the attention of those who do not know Christ and lead them to him. I believe also that the cross I saw today, is a sign that revival is coming across our land. This is not a time to shrink back and hide but to allow the Lord to unveil us to those who need God’s love. The anointing and breakthrough of the cross will bring many Kairos moments that will change our lives and those around us and bring us into alignment with the Lord. 

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“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) 

Life is full of different seasons: short and long, good and bad, boring and exciting. Sometimes we have control of the timing of these seasons, and sometimes they come and go as they please. The death of one season may mean that a lot of change occurs, but it can also mean that we’re entering a time of growth and self development. Whether the season ends well and badly, we need to enter the new era in the right frame of mind. Here’s a few thoughts on how to end the season well: 

1. Complete unfinished business. It is important that we have no regrets when entering a transition period between seasons. Two years ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about completing my Licentiate in Instrumental and Vocal teaching.  I felt aggrieved as this qualification had previously been blocked by various issues, I’d been hurt by the situation, and I couldn’t progress without it. The thought of not completing this qualification was keeping me up at night, and I knew that God was saying that it was time to put things right. I needed to end a difficult time well by doing something for myself that put me in control and brought something good out of something bad.  

2. Let go of dead things. Not everything (or everyone) can go into your new season with you. You might need to let go of your house, your job, or even some of your friends. As we enter new territory, we change and develop to fit where we are going; this means that certain things cannot come with us because they won’t fit or work in the new place. This can be hard to accept, especially when those around us don’t share the same vision and we know that our relationships are dying because we are changing. It would be unfair to take those people with us as they would hinder us, and we would hinder them from reaching their full potential too. It can be daunting to step out on our own or with a smaller circle of friends, but God is always with us as we pioneer into the new. At the beginning of Joshua 1, Moses was dead; as Joshua became leader of the Israelites, he had to let go of his leader, mentor and friend at the border of the promised land so that he could lead the Israelites into their destiny.  

3. Accept that it might not end the way you want it to. Sometimes things end well, we feel we can leave fulfilled and with projects intact or friendships that will continue. However, there are times when a season will end with grief and disappointment. I always think that these difficult endings are there to help us leave quickly. There are places where we would linger too long if left to our own devices. Sometimes God wants to move us on quickly and the short, sharp shock makes us focus on moving forward rather than becoming distracted. One of my friends always reminds me to “shake the dust from our feet” as mentioned in Matthew 10:14 when dealing with discouragement. The same too can applied to exiting a situation; travel lightly and don’t take too much of what has happened to heart. Easier said than done, but if we become trapped by bitterness, a blocked heart and mind will make us miss what the Lord has for us.  

4. You don’t need to have all the answers. When Joshua became leader of the Israelites, the Lord told him to get going and cross the river Jordan, after that the Lord gave him every place that he stepped into. The Lord didn’t say “here’s a map, I want you to go to X, Y and Z and do the following.” He just gave Joshua an initial command “go” and that if he followed the Lord’s word he wouldn’t fail. We’re often late leaving one season and entering the next because of fear. We want to know what the plan is, and what to do and when, but the Lord wants to build our faith and trust in him so he only gives us part of the details. This doesn’t mean that we’re under prepared, more that we’re in a good place to grow our faith and trust in Jesus. Each piece of the puzzle comes as we need it.  

5. Make peace with the past. Whatever has happened cannot be undone: we have to live with it. If we make peace with our feelings, memories and actions, we enable ourselves to move on in a healthy way. If we learn from our history and mistakes, we are better equipped for our future. What has happened in the past no longer defines us but informs our future plans and choices. This helps us to forgive ourselves and others, and brings healing and freedom to pursue the new. You cannot move forward if you are always looking back.  

Wherever you are at in the change of season process, keep moving forward and listening to what the Lord is saying. The preparation of our hearts and a change of mindset for the new is required to help us become all that the Lord wants us to be. Whichever way you leave this season, be ready for the next one.  

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I’ve been pondering on a word for the coming season and something that has come up again and again is the word JOY! We’ve all been through a difficult couple of years and now I sense that it is time to live with good expectation for the coming year. The things that have been stalled, damaged or robbed from us will be restored by the Lord. It’s a season of JOY! We are now in the first season of a new era. I asked the Lord to confirm this word and earlier today as I walked into Primark, the first thing I saw was this ornament. It was the last one on the shelf and it had no price: it was priceless! In the end the manager sold it to me for 50p! In reality, JOY is priceless and that’s want the Lord wants to give us this year; his priceless JOY.

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Twenty-four years ago I was given a promise by the Lord. I was walking across the common to church when the Lord started a conversation with me that would change the course of my plans for my life. At the time, (and being very young) I presumed that this promise would manifest quite quickly in my life, however as time went on, I wondered if it would ever happen. For decades I felt that I hadn’t reached the correct timing of this word as the right people and circumstances weren’t in place and quite frankly neither was my maturity, character or faith. I parked the word and assumed that it would be something that happened much later in life.  

Earlier this year, a series of closed doors led me to a dead end with seemingly no way forward. If it hadn’t been for a relative encouraging me to review that word from 1997, and a significant conversation with an old friend, I might never have considered moving forward into new territory. Sometimes the Lord sends a difficult situation into our lives to drive us forward to our Promised Land. Without that, we get comfortable in a place that is no longer suitable and it can rob us of reaching our God given destination. In Exodus 9, 10, 11 and 14, we are told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart; this happened so that a) the Israelites were so uncomfortable they had to move and b) so that God’s glory could be displayed. The misery that Pharaoh inflicted on the Israelites literally pushed them to seek the Lord’s help and go after the Promised Land. In this we can proclaim that all things work for our good under God’s authority and will (Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28). The Lord quite literally gave me an “Almighty shove” that moved me into position.

The unfamiliarity and strangeness of the new can make us think that we’ve misunderstood the word. In recent weeks I have questioned what the Lord had said to me. Perhaps this isn’t what the Lord said? Have I got this wrong? Is this new season meant to be this difficult? Hebrews 11:9-10 tells us that Abraham was a stranger in the land that had been promised to him. He stuck out like a sore thumb in the place that was promised to him as home. The land was still occupied by someone else and wasn’t yet his, but the Lord clearly asked him to move there and set up home. Yet after he had settled in the promised land, the promise of a child was fulfilled, and the long time promise of many descendants began its course.  

I think what we can now see is that through the pandemic, the Lord has ended some seasons ended and begun new ones. He has moved people around and opened new doors. In my case, the new door was quite literally an old one that had been waiting for the right time to be opened. Although the new may not be what you’re expecting, in time the Lord will deliver what he promised. I am now in place, waiting for what the Lord promised me. And that’s the key, positioning ourselves to receive what was promised: mentally, spiritually and in some cases physically. The promise will not come about until we are ready to receive. There is a kairos moment for all God’s words and when the conditions are right, the timing becomes opportune.  

For Abraham, the timing was slower than he anticipated, and the new home was not handed to him on a plate. His promise may have been slower than he would have liked but in the fullness of time, it came to fruition and God’s purpose was worked out. If anything, this should encourage us that God is in control and that he always delivers on his word.  

Promises are not so much about receiving what was offered but they are about developing our character in order to receive what was promised. Equally our faith must grow to accommodate God’s blessing, and this is the most crucial part of the process. If we keep going under pressure, our faith develops greater than we can ever imagine, and that is God’s ultimate goal for us. All God’s promises bloom in the fullness of time. 

(Painting: Bright Rainbow Flower by Helen Sanderson White. Copyright 2021 Helen Sanderson White)

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