The Seasons of Life | Summer

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”

 -Ecc. 3:1

Summer can be seen as the season of strength, productivity, and visible blessing. It is the season of building families, ministries, careers, and influence. It is when prayers seem answered, opportunities open, and the fruit of past obedience becomes visible.

Psalm 1 describes the righteous person as, “…a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season…”

Summer is that fruit-bearing time. The tree is not striving—it is rooted. Its productivity flows from proximity to the water. In the same way, spiritual fruit in our lives—love, endurance, wisdom, leadership—flows from abiding in Christ, not from frantic effort (John 15:5).

In this season, faith often looks steady rather than dramatic. C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, insightfully observes that the enemy fears not emotional highs but persevering obedience. The “long obedience” of ordinary faithfulness—prayer, integrity, humility, service—shapes the soul more profoundly than fleeting spiritual intensity. Summer seasons mature us through repetition and responsibility.

A.W. Tozer, in The Knowledge of the Holy, insists that what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Summer productivity must be anchored in a right vision of God. If we see Him merely as a helper to our ambitions, our work becomes self-centered. But if we see Him as holy, sovereign, and worthy of glory, our fruit becomes worship.Yet summer carries subtle dangers. 

When fruit is abundant, self-reliance quietly grows. Success can disguise spiritual drift. The strength that once depended on prayer can shift toward confidence in our own wisdom. Scripture warns Israel in Deuteronomy 8 that when they enter a land of abundance, they must “take care lest you forget the Lord your God… lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them… then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God.”Summer can make us forget the Source.

Lewis warns that prosperity often lulls the soul into comfort. Tozer cautions that activity—even religious activity—can replace genuine intimacy with God. One may be outwardly fruitful yet inwardly distant.

The key to thriving in summer is not working harder but remaining rooted. The tree in Psalm 1 survives heat because its roots run deep. Likewise, the believer in a season of blessing must cultivate humility, gratitude, and dependence.

Summer is a gift—but it must be stewarded carefully. For when the sun is high and the fields are full, the greatest spiritual work may be the quiet discipline of remembering who made you grow.