Daily Ponderings: Ecclesiates 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

 Life on earth is seasonal.  That's what this one long sentence tells us.  Seasons change to allow life to complete a necessary cycle.  For most plants, winter brings life to rest as spring brings all the vigor of life back.  Some plants die so that new seeds can develop.  This is God's design. 

In this life, we seem to favor stability because it makes us feel secure.  On the other hand, change threatens us because it brings us into an unknown situation.  Our natural reaction is to overcompensate for the change in an attempt to make us more prepared for any future change.  We buy insurance policies when we experience disaster; we hoard stuff when we foresee a shortage; we get a face lift when our facial skin elongates to touch the ground; dye our hair when they gray, we go green (change the bags we use) to save the earth from global warming, etc.  No matter what we do to prevent them, as King Solomon found out, it is a chasing after the wind.   In reality it is the seasonal changes in our lives that make us stronger and better prepared for any change.  The seasons of life are laid by God to make His creation know that He is God.  He manages the world and all that is in it.  He makes all things beautiful in His time.

I believe that the above verses in Ecclesiastes were written for us so that we will not entertain fear when changes happen in our lives.  Does your boss upset you?  Does your job frustrate you today?  Nothing is new to God.  All things that are happening now, He already had seen them happen before.   It is God's design that we should trust and depend on Him so that we can live in peace.  Be still...He is in control.

Father, hold me as I walk this life.  Help me to appreciate your blessings in every season and teach me to follow your lead.  Teach me to choose well regardless of my circumstances.