Sunday Notes: A Time for Everything
The passage of Scripture that we focused on was Ecclesiastes 3 where King Solomon pours out his thoughts and insight on time and how our lives are bound by it.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 sets the tone for the whole chapter and it is written:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."
The statement that King Solomon wrote is so prosaic and common to us that we sometimes forget that there is the right time for all endeavors and events in our lives.
We know that we have to undergo through certain stages of development and experience all sorts of changes in our lives. King Solomon in the next verses enumerates the different activities that each have their own time.
From verse 2 to verse 8, Solomon writes 28 activities and events that happen in life which includes 14 good moments and 14 bad moments. This tells us that there always comes a point when we are faced with trouble, difficulties, and struggles but there would also be good moments that counteract those bad times.
God has set out all these things to happen for certain reasons but we have to trust in Him that these things happen for our good as it was written in Romans 8:28 which says,
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, whom He has called according to His purpose."
With this in mind, I think the message that this passage wants to bring across is that we should not try to rush the events that God has already planned beforehand and has foreseen for each one of us.
We know that these things are good and so we have to trust in Him and submit to His will. We have to choose to put God first always in our lives at all times.
In Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon writes:
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
The Bible tells us that God is eternal. He existed before the earth and the universe were created. He knew everything that would happen before time began.
He thought of each individual with their unique set of qualities, skills, and character before we were even conceived in our mother's womb and when we were conceived, He knew us and took care of us.
The verse given above tells us that God has made everything beautiful in its time which means that He had made a perfect plan for us already. He knows our future and He has wonderful plans for them as Jeremiah spoke about.
But since God has given us the gift of free will, we have the choice to make our own decisions and God does not force upon us what He wants but merely gives us space to discover it for ourselves.
Eventually, as the passage also describes, we would have a deep yearning in the depths of our soul, a longing that only God knows how to satisfy for He knows the desires of our heart and what we truly need in our lives.
The passage says that God has set eternity in the hearts of men and so we have this concept that there is something beyond the life that we are living on earth and so we search for meaning and purpose for life.
We would not be able to understand everything in our lifetime. We simply do not have the capacity for that. But with faith, I believe that it is enough for us to know that God has our lives in His hands and He is in full control of everything that happens around us and in us.
In believing and following Jesus, it is important for us to submit our will to His and lean on Him to bring us where He wants us to go.
Now, moving to the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes a riveting conclusion which is three-fold. In verse 13 and 14, he writes:
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
He concludes this book with three things:
1. Fear God
2. Keep His commandments
3. This is the duty of man
It is very clear that we live such short lives and the future that lies ahead is very uncertain but for the moment, we know that we have God who takes care of everything in our lives.
No matter how much struggles we go through, we know that He wants to bring out a certain character or develop a Christian value in us so that we will be prepared or equipped to face tomorrow.
God Bless!
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