Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 8, “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.”
As much as we would like to believe we control things, the truth is that all things are in God’s hands. He makes everything happen in His time. When I read this passage of Scripture, it makes me happy to know that that times and seasons of my life are in the hands of an all-knowing God.
When I look at where I am now in life, as it relates to what God has shown me, I have to be honest and say that I am at times discouraged. But when I look at His Word and understand that my times are not His times I am encouraged to stay the course.
My encouragement to you today is to stay focused as you wait on God’s timing. He created time. What may seem like a long time to us is not necessarily a long time to God. Remember, He can do more in a second than we can do in a lifetime. It only takes one word from God to totally change our circumstances.
Learning to trust God is vital to our development as believers. I spent many years upset and sad about things that I had no power to change. I regret all the wasted time spent worrying and stressing about the future. Be assured that all that we perceive to be ugly and distasteful, God has a set time to bring you through. We can know peace by knowing Him. Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
Dr. Evelyn Johnson-Taylor