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To Every Thing There Is
A Season
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven: – Eccl. 3:1
Our way is to seek only what is good and pleasant to us. We love the sweet, but
hate the bitter, and we do all we can to avoid it. We want our life to be a
continual, uninterrupted feast. If left to ourselves we would be like spoiled
children who refuse the good food and eat nothing but sweets. But the food that
doesn’t appeal to our tastes is good for us and it is what we need to be healthy
and strong. We expect to succeed in everything we attempt to do, and we expect
everything to always turn out wonderful – just like we dreamed it would. Isn’t
it amazing that after 6000 years of mankind on this earth, and all the
generations that have come and gone, that every person must learn for himself
through hard experience that there are seasons in life? There are times when
things are blooming and then there are times when things are dying. There are
times when the leaves are budding and there are times when the leaves are dry
and falling. There are times when it is hot and there are times when it is cold.
There are times of harvest and plenty and there are times of famine and want.
This is true for each individual life, and it is also true for the church.
There is a “time to get and a time to lose,” said the Preacher. If you expect to
keep all you get in this life there is coming a time when you are going to be
disappointed. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you lose – things, …or friends,
…or loved ones. There are times when things go your way, but just as surely,
there will be times when things don’t go your way. There are times in the life
of a church when life abounds and there is peace and blessing in all things, and
then there are times of winter when it is cold and dry and dead. Expect it to be
that way and you will be much better able to deal with it when the seasons
change.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven.” This is a fact from the Word of God, so everyone gets a turn to
experience this in life. It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, famous or
unknown, important or not, we all experience these seasons. It isn’t always easy
to see it in someone else’s life. One person may look like he is living in
perfect circumstances, but his heart can be as empty as can be, and he is
miserable inside. He can have family problems, or health problems, or other
kinds of problems that make his life a cold empty place. Another person may
appear to others to be in a miserable and destitute state, but have joy and
blessing in his soul. While life in this world is taking away from him, God may
be pouring in the blessings and it is a fruitful season in his soul.
It sure would be a help to us if we would believe the Word of God in this matter
and learn to prepare ourselves for the seasons of drought and winter. If they
take us by surprise it is because of our own foolishness and unbelief. God has
warned us about them and instructed us in how to deal with them. What a shame
that those who claim to be God’s people are so shaken and discouraged when it
comes a “time to lose,” or a “time to weep”! Job realized this truth and dealt
with it like a child of God should:
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the LORD. – Job 1:21
Sometimes God gives to us …and sometimes God takes
from us. Both are part of life. We should be able to truly thank God
from an honest heart for both, because we know He loves us and we know
that He is working to make us more like Him. That is a big job that only
God can do, and He has ordained that we learn through suffering, just as
Jesus did. (Heb. 5:8) It is a fact that much more is accomplished
to make us like Him when we lose than when we get. The things God
subtracts from us are always those things that have us attached to this
world. He never subtracts something that would leave us farther from
Himself. On the contrary, those things we lose are things that once
removed, will allow us to draw closer to God. He is preparing us to be
in his presence for eternity and in order to do that He has to slowly
cut each of the cords that have us attached to this world. Life is such
that by the time the end draws near a child of God is eager to go. He
has much more in Heaven that he has here on earth. He has lost his
affection for things of the earth and his treasure is in Heaven, where
his heart is also. He has lost many things by then. He has lost his
strength, his vision, his health, and many loved ones and friends. But
there is a time to every purpose and when we suffer loss God will use it
to make us better prepared to meet Him.
Sure, there are times in life to be born, to plant, to heal, to build
up, to laugh, to dance, to gather stones together, to embrace, to get,
to keep, to sew, to speak, to love, and to have peace. That is
wonderful! But that is not all life is about here on this earth. There
is also a time to die, to pluck up that which is planted, to kill, to
break down, to weep, to mourn, to cast away stones, to refrain from
embracing, to lose, to cast away, to rend, to keep silence, to hate, and
to have war. God said it would be that way. Expect it. Prepare for it.
Trust God through it, because the seasons DO change. Spring doesn’t last
forever, but neither does the winter, and with the passing of each
season you are more prepared to meet God if you are one of his children.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a
time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to
kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get,
and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to
rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A
time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. –
Eccl. 3:1-8
Mike Miller
(11/6/2005)
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