A Time For Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.”

I am a geologist and being a geologist, I have to compile huge databases of all the wells drilled in a certain area and what they found. Kind of like a crime scene investigator, I don’t know who done it, all you have is the evidence. All we geologist ever have is the evidence of past successes and failures in the world of oil and gas. Gathering all this data can be mind numbing and tedious, but it is a necessary part of the job. This gathering of data is a part of my career that I don’t like so much but I have learned that the devil is in the details. This time I take gathering and understanding is the difference between being a good oil finder and one who just makes maps. Drilling wells is fun and exciting but that step is only seen after a mountain of data has been processed and understood, accurately assessing the risks, and convincing multiple people to spend big money on your idea. The details matter!

Most people who read the first 8 verses of Ecclesiastes 3 don’t really give it much attention.  They are like “whatever, I already know this.”  Solomon starts the list by saying “there is time for everything” and finishes with “a season for every activity under heaven.”  If you read the list carefully, you realize that for every good thing there is a negative.  “A time to kill and a time to heal.” (verse 3) for example.  I think most of us want to focus on the good things like healing, planting, building, and dancing while we tend to dread the dying, tearing down, mourning, and being silent. 

Could God actually be wanting us to look close at both extremes?  After all, God spoke to the Israelites in the desert, David ran from Saul and hid in caves, Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days.  I think God is trying to tell us something.  I am here in all of the seasons of your life.  Yes, He is more noticeable in some times rather than others but in verse 11 Solomon states, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” 

Your shortcomings are beautiful in their time.  Your healing is beautiful in its time.  The weeping is beautiful in its time.  We can all say that new babies and laughing is beautiful but I think living out the Christian life encompasses the bad and the good and sees God in the middle of it all. 

Today, reflect on the circumstance you are in today or this very moment. Can you see God in the middle of it?  Verse 11 goes on to say that, “He has also set eternity in the human mind;”  Your negative season is just that, a season.  Your positive season is also just a season.  Your Christian walk should be so much greater than your circumstances, it should be focused on eternity.  God is not frustrated by circumstances and neither should we. Rather, we should know that even when we walk into the valley of the shadow of death, He will be there to comfort us (Psalm 23:4).  Don’t fear the valley, you have God with you always.  

We may not like the hard times, the lonely times, or the times spent running for our lives, but remember that those times are not void of God. God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” We don’t need to be strong and courageous when everything is perfect in our lives. A season is coming and the Lord is telling us that He has put eternity in our hearts so we must look past the season and look to eternity. The God of the universe is on our side, not just when we are in great times, but also when life has dealt us a blow. Have you looked for God in your season?

Prayer: Father, too often we forget that you are always with us. We tend to focus our attention on ourselves and getting through the issues of life. Today, I declare that I will look for you in every season under the sun because our calling is greater than what we are going through. You have given us your Holy Spirit so we can walk in victory. I pray that my faith will be strengthened so I can walk though every season of life with my head held high. In Jesus name, amen.