Anglican Devotional 26 October 2022 – God Controls Times And Seasons

TOPIC: God Controls Times And Seasons

READ: Ecclesiastes 3:1-23 (NKJV)

1. To everything [there is] a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2. A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck [what is] planted;
3. A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4. A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5. A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6. A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
7. A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
8. A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
9. What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10. I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11. 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.
12. I know that nothing [is] better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13. and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor — it [is] the gift of God.
14. I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does [it,] that men should fear before Him.
15. That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
16. Moreover I saw under the sun: [In] the place of judgment, Wickedness [was] there; And [in] the place of righteousness, Iniquity [was] there.
17. I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For [there is] a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
18. I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are [like] animals.”
19. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all [is] vanity.
20. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.
21. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
22. So I perceived that nothing [is] better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that [is] his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him.

THE MESSAGE:

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” opens this passage. Time, here connotes seasons, dispensations, regimes or tenures. King Solomon opines that we live in a world of changes, attended by several events vastly different from one another with man continually passing between them on a daily basis (verses 2-9). It also holds that every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by the Controller (God), and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us (verse 11). No human has the ability to stop or elongate time or even determine seasons, except God Almighty. The living only puts up a schedule, taps into the season’s window and is at the mercies of the Time-Controller on a daily basis (James 4:13-15).

The passage also holds that the two mutually contrary events of life are in revolution and are inevitable (birth time and death time; weeping time and joyous time, etc.); each takes their turn to come into play. Thus, no situation or condition lasts forever. Therefore, as we cross through various seasons of pleasures and pains, both as individuals and families, let us anchor our faith on God, who makes all things beautiful in its time. The seasons of distress shall surely come and pass; joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). On the other hand, we must understand that our time is ticking, thus, we should not be opportunity wasters. Rather than using to create troubles, let us seek God instead, make peace with our neighbours and prepare our earthly exit, for we do not know when our time will be up!

PRAYER: This short lifetime set by the Controller, is the only time to prepare for eternal life hereafter.