’TIS AUTUMN
There is something sacred about the fall. The air grows still, the trees begin to whisper goodbye, and the world seems to rest before the hush of winter. Every leaf that drifts to the ground carries a quiet message from heaven, that beauty is not meant to last forever, and that letting go can be holy. The gold must fall before the green returns. So it is with the believer. We do not cling to what is fading. We release it in faith, trusting that through surrender comes life. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24).
When I listen to Nat King Cole sing ’Tis Autumn, I hear more than a melody. I hear a parable of change—that seasons shift, and the heart must learn to shift with them. The Christian life is a journey through many seasons, each with its own beauty and its own burden. God paints our days with both sunlight and shadow to teach us that faith must deepen when daylight fades. “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and even the chill of change can carry the warmth of His presence (Psalm 23:4).
The trees do not resist the fall. They yield. Their surrender is quiet, their trust complete. The believer must learn this same grace—to bow before God’s wind and release what cannot remain. “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). The leaves fall, but the roots remain. So too must our souls stay rooted in Christ when outer things fade away. What looks like loss is often the making of something new.
As autumn settles over the fields, the land rests and the harvest is gathered. The air grows still with the peace of completion. So the soul finds rest in the finished work of Jesus. The striving ends. The heart grows quiet beneath His love. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Every season of labor has its harvest, every trial has its end in grace (Galatians 6:9).
Yet autumn teaches more than rest. It whispers of what endures. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Each falling leaf reminds us that life here is passing. The beauty of this world is only a shadow of what is to come. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). We are pilgrims, not settlers. Our true home is not among the dying leaves but in the everlasting spring of God’s kingdom.
And yet, autumn is not only a season of dying. It is a promise. The bare branches preach of resurrection. What seems to fall into death will rise again in glory. “Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The believer learns to sing through every change, because in Christ, nothing beautiful is ever lost. It is only transformed.
So when the cool winds blow and the song ’Tis Autumn plays softly through the room, let your heart listen deeper. Hear in it the faithfulness of God through every season. He does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The leaves may fall, but His promises remain. And when winter seems long, remember this: spring is already written in the heart of heaven.
Lord, teach my heart the peace of autumn. Help me to let go of what is fading and to rest in what is eternal. When change comes, let me trust Your hand more than my understanding.
Root me deep in Your love, that I may not be moved when the seasons shift. Let my life fall like a leaf into Your will, and may beauty rise from my surrender.
When the days grow short and the air grows still, be the warmth within my soul. Remind me that death never has the final word—resurrection does.
Thank You that You are the same in every season. The leaves may fall, but Your Word endures forever. Keep me faithful until the spring of glory comes, and I see Your face.
Amen
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
