There Is A Time For Everything In This Life

Almost always people seek the Bible at a critical ‘CHANGE’ point in their lives. They seek ‘wisdom’ for the situation they are in. The most famous Bible figure concerning ‘wisdom’ is King Solomon. He wrote on the subject of ‘wisdom’. His wisdom came directly from God. It was a gift to him and can be a gift to us!

One of the major things that we learn from the Biblical writings of Solomon is that NOTHING in our lives will EVER stay the same! God wants us, His children, to know that.

If we are on a journey to understand more of what God would have us know about this life we are living and its purpose we would count Solomon’s words of wisdom to be very important.

Do you remember Michael Jackson? Elvis? John Kennedy? Martin Luther King? All of these men were accomplished men in their fields. They had it all. On this earth they had everything they wanted; but did they please God in their lives? Were they believers in Christ? Did they invest in the really important things in this life?

Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 1:1-4 and 11

King Solomon is saying here that everything in this life is meaningless because even though man toils over his work here on Earth, in the end all men die. He goes on to say that man is not remembered for long after he is dead.

Solomon had everything that could be offered to man and yet he says that all things under the sun are meaningless – a chasing after the wind.  (Eccl. 1:12-14)

In other words we can chase after the wind all we want; but we will NEVER catch it. It is unattainable. Why waste time doing that when we can chase after God and believe Him?

Solomon says that no matter how much we chase the things of this world, even if we caught some of them, it won’t matter because we will die anyway. The ONLY thing worthy of ‘chasing’ is God! He is the ONLY thing that will last!

Ecclesiastes 2:1-10 begins to show us that Solomon searched for something meaningful in life. Did he find it? Do we find it when we search for something meaningful? We always come up short or after the ‘chase’ is over; we are not happy and go on to search for something else.

In Ecclesiastes 2:11 Solomon even goes on to say that he personally searched what he had done and could find no meaning. He put a magnifying glass on his life to see what he had done that had purpose and found his life to be lacking purpose and meaning by the world’s standards. God’s standards are what count!

We find that Solomon went on in his search until he came to the point that he UNDERSTOOD! Solomon understood that he needed to have JOY in doing what he did and that his life must be pleasing to God! Those that are found pleasing God find wisdom, knowledge and joy! (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

Solomon went on to write Ecclesiastes Chapter 3. He wrote that chapter because God opened his mind to wisdom, knowledge and joy. Solomon chose those things. He changed the way that he was thinking!

If we are looking to God, no matter the season of our lives, then God will make sure our mind is open to wisdom, knowledge and joy in whatever we are doing! It is pleasing to Him! There is HOPE and PROMISE in that! When we are pleasing God even IF we don’t understand the ‘why’ of the situation, we are bringing Him glory and He will give us wisdom, knowledge and joy in the current situation.

There really IS a time for everything! This is what Solomon says in Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. It is TRUE!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 teaches us that there is a time for everything. Life has different seasons. Whatever the season is in your life right now, whether good or bad, there is another season coming! We must spend the time we are in this season PLEASING GOD no matter what!

God will judge the world. Those who have wronged the Believer will be punished by God. Our world may not punish that wrong…but we must rest assured that God will! There should be hope and joy in that thought.

The wickedness of mankind will be punished. Those things that we see happen that go beyond our understanding belong to God. We MUST BELIEVE that! (Deuteronomy 29:29) This verse tells us that we are not meant to ‘KNOW’ everything about life.

What we can learn from Solomon:

v Solomon reminds us that death comes to all. Our daily striving sometimes is not all that important. What we should count as important is doing what will please God. Will the decisions I make today please God? Will talking to my family and loving my family please God? Will honoring my employer please God? Will the thoughts I think and the things I do please God? These are the things that we should be putting our thoughts and time into.

v We should evaluate our lives to see if we could be wasting time in life by chasing things that don’t really matter. Do I really need that new item that will put us in debt? Should I be staying home when I could be at church? Could I tithe instead of eat out 10 times this month? Should I serve in some capacity instead of saying I can’t? The way we question in our minds is what needs to change. When we are seeking to please God in our thoughts and mind; we see things differently!

v There are ‘life cycles’ in this life. In our walk with the Lord we should learn to accept this fact. It is clearly laid out in the Bible and explained here by a Solomon to us! We should be able to accept the good in those seasons and the bad in other seasons. Nothing will ever stay the same. Life is a changing process preparing us for eternity! Living in a desire to please God and letting God wash over us wisdom, knowledge and joy will change the way that we view this life that is ever changing.

v While we are here on Earth, we need to exhibit the Believer’s Life by living out pleasing God in ALL THINGS! When we do this we are blessed with even MORE wisdom, knowledge and joy to make it in this world! God’s economy is so much different from ours! When we begin to really BELIEVE Him and change our thought process; some of the things that we struggle with on a daily basis just fade away and in their place we get to experience what Solomon found on his quest in this life! Solomon gained wisdom, knowledge and joy in a BIG way. We as believers, by pleasing God in our life, find the same thing! The gift is for everyone!

God calls us to be more than a conqueror in this life. He WANTS us to overcome defeat with victory. Try today to change your thinking on what really matters in this life because there REALLY is a time for everything when we are pleasing God!