“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1
This past week, I figured it was finally safe to take the snowbrushes out of our cars, but as luck would have it just a few hours later – it was snowing! It wasn’t much, but I’m sure we can all agree we’ve seen enough of that white stuff until next winter!
The season has begun to change over the last few weeks, and between the warmer weather and greener grass, it’s been a welcome change. But the changes in our weather aren’t the only seasons that we experience in our life. In fact, King Solomon wrote in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes that “for everything there is a season.” Solomon gives many examples of “changing seasons” in that chapter and here are just a few examples: our life is merely a season in the wholeness of time. There’s a planting season and a harvest season, times of sadness and times of laughter, seasons to save and store, and there are times to spend and give.
However, for many of us, the warmer weather isn’t the only change of season happening right now. Some are getting married in the next few months. Others are expecting babies. Many are entering into a time each year defined as “lake season.” There are graduating seniors who are ending this season of life and heading off to college in the fall, and college seniors who are graduating, finding jobs, and maybe moving to a new place. And some are entering into a new relationship or beginning a new job. These are just a few of the many ways our lives change over time, and these kinds of things happen throughout our life!
At the end of his list of seasons in Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon says that this is the business God has given to us and that he has made everything beautiful in its time.
And while many of the changes that we experience are wonderful, there are also changing seasons that are painful and filled with worry, sadness, and grief – an unexpected illness or diagnosis, a changing work environment or job loss, the end of a relationship, or perhaps the death of a loved one. Those seasons can last days or weeks, months or even years. One of the main points of the book of Ecclesiastes is that God is in control through all these seasons of life and that he is good to us – even if it may not always look like it. But we must remember God sees things from a different angle, a better and eternal perspective and he makes everything beautiful in its time!
Because of that, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 that the best thing for people in whatever we do in any season is to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we live. He says that this is God’s gift to us. In other words, God’s in control so enjoy yourselves!
Sometimes changes in our life cause us fear, stress, or anxiety. By nature, we don’t always like change. If that’s you, whether you’re graduating from high school or college, getting married or having a baby, moving or retiring, going through a job transition, having a change in relationship, or experiencing any of the countless things that happen in our daily lives, just remember God is in the midst of all of it and working in all things for our good.
It suggests that the best thing for humans is to be joyful, do good, eat, drink, and take pleasure in our work, as these are God’s gifts. The verses encourage a mindset of contentment and gratitude for the good things in life, rather than focusing on what’s missing or unattainable. God is good to us and promises to always take care of us, so take time to enjoy whatever God has in store for your next season of life because God will make everything beautiful in its time.
Pastor Tony
