then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. -Deuteronomy 11:14 (NIV)

Today is the autumnal equinox, the first day of autumn (or fall, as it’s also referred to here in the United States). Day and night are of roughly equal lengths. Depending on where you live, there will be beautiful coloration of foliage all around.

Aside from pumpkin spice-flavored everything, we can look forward to generally cooler weather, and even prepare for the winter season to come. It’s a magical time, especially for children.

For believers, it’s a great reminder of the crucial time mentioned in Deuteronomy 11, where Moses explains to the Israelites that God will prosper them in the Promised Land, if only they are obedient to Him and His laws. Here’s that verse in context:

But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. -Deuteronomy 11:11-14 (NIV)

God can flatten mountains and make crooked paths straight before His obedient children. May this autumn season remind us that it is He who made the trees, the leaves that grow and fall from them, and the rain to fall—or not fall. Let this be our wake up call to gratefully enjoy the splendor of His creation as we obediently take the path He puts before us, in this season and every one to follow.