A Time for Everything

The third chapter of Ecclesiastes opens with the thought,
     “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” (NIV)

It is followed by several verses naming common life events or activities and their opposites.

This passage is meant to remind us we don’t have control of our lives or of the things that happen in it.

God does.

God decides when a man is supposed to be born and when he is supposed to die.

God appointed the seasons for planting and harvesting.

God is in control.

God keeps everything balanced.

It’s a reminder there is a proper time and procedure for things.

We must be careful not to be foolish with that timing, even when we are weighed down with pain or misery.

Instead, we must look to God for leadership and guidance, trusting Him to show us the right time and way to go about doing things.

 

This passage also speaks to the fact not everything is permanent.

When the Teacher says there is a season for every activity he means while they have an appointed time to occur, they do not last forever.

Things, people, and situations come and go as life’s seasons change.

This is bittersweet because it means the good things won’t get to stay permanently, but it also means the hard things won’t be here forever, either.

They come at their appointed time, stay for their season, and then leave again.

 

I wonder how many times I’ve taken the timing of something into my own hands.

How many times have I pushed forward trying to make something happen when God said, “wait,”?

How many times did I try to manipulate something instead of waiting and letting God bring it about in His own perfect timing?

How many times have I tried to hold on to something or keep something going – relationships, jobs, bad habits – when God said it was time to let go and move on?

I can’t win trying to decide the timing on things that properly belong in God’s hands. All it does is create a bigger problem, even potentially causing a delay in the timing.

All I can do is leave it in God’s hands and trust He will make it happen at the proper time and willingly hand it to Him when He decides it’s time has ended.

 

It is up to us to trust God to determine the seasons.

In all these things, God is working.

He is using seasons to bring about good things in us and in our lives.

While the seasons will bring both good times and bad, we can be sure of one thing:

In His timing, God truly can bring beauty out of all of it, no matter what happens.

 

 

 

 

(This is part 5 in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes. The series is a brief overview designed to give you a gentle introduction to the book. You can find all the posts here.)