Prophetic Word: Four seasons in four months! You are a Canna in the Lord’s Garden
The other day a friend told me, "If you think about it, we've experienced all four seasons in about four months."
She was talking about a television show we watch, but I knew the Lord was speaking a profound message through her. He was showing us how some people have raced through a season of acceleration and experienced four spiritual seasons in the last four months.
Spiritual seasons aren't marked by a calendar, but ebb and flow with the Holy Spirit. There's deep work being done in the body of Christ right now, and we should remain hopeful that we're not alone. Others are going through something similar right now.
The spring season in the Spirit marks a time of new beginnings, renewal and hope as new life bursts. Summer represents freedom, excitement and fun, but the days can be long and the heat burdensome.
Autumn reflects change, harvest time, comfort, and balance, and the world gets calm. It’s a season of maturity. The evidence of your hard work can be displayed here. Winter can feel heavy and desolate as darkness grips the world, but we get to rest, recover and even celebrate with those we love. It’s a time of surprises and gifts.
As I reflected on my last four months and the lives of some of my spiritual sisters, I realized it was true: many people have experienced four seasons within four months!
This is a period of divine acceleration.
It’s when one experiences a rapid journey through various stages of time to prepare for something new up ahead. There’s been a seesawing of seasons, where it didn't always make sense what was happening. You felt many mountain top moments and then spiraled into the grip of winter blues even as the summer heat raged outside. It was a time of vast changes.
There were moments when you knew that God would do the impossible in your life, and other times you doubted what you actually heard. You saw breakthroughs, new growth, and significant strides as hope abounded everywhere! During other periods, intense sorrow captured your heart and it felt suffocating at times. However, you didn't remain stuck in one season too long because the Lord kept you on your toes as everything rapidly shifted!
REMEMBER: TIMING IS EVERYTHING! THIS WAS A FULL-CIRCLE SEASON IN A PERIOD OF FOUR MONTHS!
This rapid acceleration many of you just endured was all by design. The deeper you dig into the Bible, you will see that spiritual seasons have always occurred from the beginning of time. Some periods of growth are long and drawn out and others, like many just experienced, have a quickening or hastening attached to the growth. It can also be a bizarre time because things switch up and happen really fast and the Lord operates differently compared to past seasons.
When we evaluate everything on God's time instead of the calendar, it gives us a heavenly perspective to know that every season starts and ends. By discerning what season we are in, the Holy Spirit helps us mature, endure, gain strength and learn to trust.
The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season…and [God] has made everything beautiful in its time.”
THE LORD’S CANNA
As I spent time in worship with the Lord, He showed me the word "canna” which was definitely something new!
Full disclaimer: I do not know anything about plants, flowers or planting, so I researched as best possible to try and perceive what the Lord is teaching. There’s such a beautiful revelation to share and it’s a lovely parable how Christ views you!
The Lord says: "you are His canna coming into full bloom."
In 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul shares “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
So if we are reflections of the Lord’s garden and field, then some of you are the cannas among the rest!
Cannas are bold flowering plants! They are the Lord's rainbow, full of brilliant colors, on display for the world to see. They add energy and excitement wherever they're planted.
Cannas thrive when most flowers can't take the heat of late July and early August. The more sun (Son), the better! They do okay in the shade, but they like direct sunlight.
The plant’s bold foliage and exotic flowers make a big splash with little effort. Once the shoots appear, they accelerate in growth! Cannas should be located where they will have a visual impact at the height of summer and into fall.
They also have broad leaves that come alive with the whisper of the wind! They can flourish and stand tall despite the atmosphere around them and they bring hope to their environment.
They are thirsty plants and need a consistent water supply throughout the growing season (Isa 12:3: “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation”).
Cannas hit their stride in late summer and fall when most annuals and perennials start to fade. Canna blooms are brilliant and flamboyant and stand tall on their stems. They would be magnificent even if they never bloomed. However, they keep pumping out colorful flowers and can survive all sorts of climates.
Cannas are not particularly fussy and can be flexible in good soil. They don't like to be crowded; if other plants encroach, they might not bloom. They have a solid and bulky base and once they start to grow, they will shoot straight upward on their own with confidence! Their roots grow wide and firm, and their stems stand tall with bright flowers for all to see.
The size and amount of blooms of cannas are linked to the number of "eyes" on the underground stem. The more eyes, the bigger the plant and the better its colors. (YES, LORD, GIVE US EYES TO SEE)!
It’s amazing to see what these flowering plants become because at the seed stage, they have a hard exterior. To soften the seed, they have to be soaked over and over again and this can be a lengthy process.
However, once they grow, they become a sight to behold!
[This next part blows me away, especially when we consider that fire represents the Holy Spirit]
In the wild, canna seed grows best in places burned by fire, which weakens the seed coat and destroys any competition for the emerging canna seedling.
Some say that Cannas are late bloomers — but they are actually right on time!
Just as I finished writing this word, I saw a Weather Channel alert that said:
Changes to August Outlook: August is the final full month of the summer, and this year it looks like there will be a sweltering conclusion for many.
Fellow Canna Lilies: this is YOUR MOMENT TO SHINE! YOU THRIVE IN THE HEAT!
The word "sweltering" can mean scorching, baking, and a beat down. But like my friend Trina said: "We receive a beat down of blessings! Blessings so hot we are passing them on to share!”
ENCOURAGING WORDS
What I learned about the canna is just how tolerant the plant is and once it starts to grow, the flowers flourish! I believe this ties back to the last four months and the journey that some of you have experienced. You have absolutely seen growth, but your best days are right in front of you. You are stately and strong in God’s garden, and a beautiful reflection of Christ for the world to see.
We’re entering the eighth month on the Gregorian calendar and the number 8 represents new beginnings. The Lord pointed out the cannas as an illustration to confirm how some people are hitting their stride in late summer and fall. This is a season of new beginnings. Another new beginning happened at the Wedding at Cana, which was the first miracle of Jesus Christ. This is where miracles begin, joy abounds and celebrations launch!
I can’t help but notice that both Cana and cannas have the same root word: reed.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the coastlands will put their hope.– Isaiah 42:3-4
A reed is a stalk of grain and when crushed and damaged, it no longer produces life and eventually dies. Isaiah reminds us that Jesus restores reeds back to life. The word “bruised” doesn’t translate well in English, but it’s talking about a deep internal injury and contusion that takes place on the hearts of those who have been wounded, heartbroken, and damaged. The bruises don’t always show on the outside, but on the inside they are crushing to the soul.
However, Jesus Christ loves the fragile and broken pieces and that’s exactly who He comes to save.
God knows just what to do to bring healing. He sends His Son. It’s the bruised reeds, the cannas, who respond to His teaching and follow Him. Jesus knows how to provide strength to vulnerability.
The withering plant once hiding in the shadows, doing everything just to survive, is now full of brilliant and bold colors bursting with life for the world to see! God’s garden is more beautiful because of everything you bring to the world. Now, it’s your time to SHINE!
This is a doors-opening, miracle-dropping, souls ablazin’ season in Jesus’ name!
Canna I get an amen?!
1 Corinthians 3:7
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
John 7:37
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.’
Philippians 1:4-6 (NIV)
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Psalm 23:1-3
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.
