Ecclesiastes 3

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV)

Life has rhythms. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. There is a time to listen and a time to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is probably the most memorable section of the book. In 1965, these words inspired Roger McGuinn of the Byrds to record the popular song Turn, Turn, Turn.

You can resist these rhythms, or you can seek to understand and comply with them. God established various times in the beginning. He worked six days and rested on the seventh day. Then He blessed it. He also made this a principle for His people to follow, and we would all be wise to take one day in seven for rest, recreation, reflection and worship.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NKJV)

God also has His own rhythms that we cannot fully discern. For example, no one knows the day or the hour of the Lord’s return. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). We don’t know what He is doing, but we do know that if we trust in Him with childlike faith, and do our best to do what He says, then He will make everything beautiful (including us) in its time. We also know that God has placed the awareness of eternity in every heart. Instinctively, we know there is more to life than these seventy or eighty years that we eat, sleep, work and play. God is shaping us for some eternal purpose, and we would all be wise to consider this truth more often. It would make us more heavenly minded so that we could rely on His grace to do more earthly good!

As we begin the New Year, perhaps there is a change of seasons for you. Maybe God would have you set aside time to do a new thing. Be open and pray to know His way for you. If you always do the same thing, you will always get the same results. But perhaps it’s time to turn, turn, turn.