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"A Time for Every Purpose"
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Imagine that you have an account in a bank, and that bank credits your account each morning with $86,400. Wouldn’t you be thrilled? But there is one stipulation: that account carries over no balance from day to day. Every morning it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the previous day. So what would you do? If you have any wisdom at all, you would spend every cent of that $86,400 on good things, on helpful things, on beautiful things, on lasting things.
The truth is, each of us has such an account. Its name is “Time.” Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds; every night it writes off as lost whatever you’ve failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance; it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account for you; each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use that day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There’s no going back; there’s no borrowing against tomorrow. You and I must live in the present on today’s deposits. May we invest our time so as to get from it the utmost in health and joy and peace! The clock is running right now. Make the most of today.
In a sense, that’s what these verses are telling us. Solomon’s point is that God has designed a life plan with so much time for each of us. Throughout our lives are these cycles of beginnings and endings, of planting and harvesting, of constructing and destroying, of bringing in and throwing out, of laughing and crying, of embracing and parting ways, of holding on and letting go, of mending and ripping out, of speaking up and shutting up, of loving and hating, of making peace and waging war. In each of these cycles we must decide how best to spend our time—and that timing is critical. All the experiences listed in these verses are appropriate at certain times. But the secret to peace with God is to discover and accept and appreciate His ultimately perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent His timing, which can lead to despair or rebellion or moving ahead without His advice.
Of course, we’d like to think that we’re in charge of our own destinies—that we’re in control. That was the gist of William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus,” that concludes with this stanza: “It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishments the scroll, / I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul.” Unfortunately, there’s one huge deception in that conclusion: Death wipes away the illusion of control in stark fashion. We are not unconquerable. For as Solomon put it so plainly and as experience will teach every one of us, there is a time to die.
So surely the wisdom of Ecclesiastes is something we should heed as we get ready for a new year! You and I are not gods unto ourselves; you and I are not in charge. We don’t control time, and it’s often even difficult to know the right time for much of anything. Yet here is the good news: There is One in charge who is more powerful, more wise, more just, and more merciful than we could ever pretend to be. Yes, the wrong does often seem to be quite strong, but don’t forget that God is still the ruler of all that is. And this God tenderly holds the times of our lives in His hands. We must rest content with that truth. It’s good to know that Jesus Christ is the master of my fate! Jesus Christ is the captain of my soul! Jesus Christ holds all the seasons of my life in His hands! And that is wisdom for daily living!
Still, we all face problems that seem to contradict God’s plan—maybe even His timing—but don’t ever let those times become barriers to your believing in Him. In fact, look at those times more closely, and you’ll be able to see that they’re really opportunities to discover that, without God, our life’s problems have no lasting solutions. So even in those times of endings and destruction and throwing out and crying and parting ways, place your trust in His timing—that He will work all times together for good to them who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
It’s been said that to realize the value of a year, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of a month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of a week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of an hour, ask two lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of a minute, ask a person who missed his plane. To realize the value of a second, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of a millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics. What is Solomon advising? In one respect, he wants us to treasure each moment we have. Remember that time waits for no one. It’s like the little truism that says: “Yesterday is history; tomorrow is mystery; today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!”
As the beginning of the third act of his play Our Town commences, Thornton Wilder has the stage manager speak a monologue critical to the meaning of the play. Having updated the gradual changes that have taken place and described the hilltop cemetery, the stage manager reminds us of this: “Now there are some things we all know, but we don’t take’m out and look at’m very often. We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars…everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it.”
The Bible tells us that it is God who plants eternity in the human heart. And that means we can never be completely satisfied with mere earthly pleasures and pursuits. We must never forget that we are created in God’s image. And because we are, we have a spiritual thirst. Because we are, we have eternal value. Because we are, nothing but the eternal God can truly satisfy us. He has built into us this restless yearning for the kind of perfect existence that can only be found in Him and in His perfect rule. Sure, He’s given us a tiny little glimpse of that perfection in the purest aspects of His creation. But it’s still only a glimpse. We cannot see into the future; we cannot comprehend everything. And that’s why we have to trust Him now and follow Him and make the most of our time as best as He shows us how.
Yes, I know the way is long and weary; it is a weary world. Perhaps that’s why we can lose hold of that eternal perspective. For in the midst of our faith, an old-natured atheist periodically rears its ugly head so that our focus diverts away from God and onto houses and names and earth and the temporary—and we lose hold of that something that’s eternal. Which is when it’s most vital for us to listen for the voice of our Lord Jesus saying, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”
We so often fail to realize that there is only one cure for all our ills. And it ain’t politics and it ain’t economics and it ain’t military might and it ain’t even philosophy or psychology or science. The sole cure for all our ills is union with our Lord. Only He can lift the burdens of those of us who are bent beneath our loads.
Every morning, the sunrise brings new light to a new day. Whether or not the clouds hide the actual rising of the sun, there is nonetheless always light enough to dispel the darkness of the previous night; there is always light enough to bring at least some degree of warmth and illumination for a brand new day. With my viewing of each sunrise, there’s a flood of questions that come to mind: Who or what will bring me tears today? Who or what will bring me laughter? What sort of challenges will I face? What stripe of adventures will I experience? These questions and the answers to them remind me that I am alive at least for one more day; they remind me that God has renewed even for me another day meant for living.
Surely the circumstances were dire for the prophet Jeremiah as well as for the people of his beloved country. It seemed as though the sun was setting to rise no more. But perhaps it was as he was catching sight of a sunrise over the Judean hills east of Jerusalem that he recorded these hopeful words in the midst of his dolorous Book of Lamentations: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”
A sign in a hotel lobby that was being remodeled stated, “Please be patient. Renovation in progress to produce something new and wonderful!” Perhaps we all should wear a sign like that! We too are unfinished projects under construction, being made into something wonderful. That is our hope, and hope is a combination of faith and patience; it’s the anticipation of good. And our hope is often in spite of our present circumstances—our present times. For the Christian, hope is not simple optimism or a denial of reality. The reason for our hope is Jesus Christ.
A little chapel in the hills of the Scottish Highlands has a sign chiseled in Gaelic on the front door. Translated into English, it says, “Come as you are, but don’t leave as you came.” When we come to the Lord we can come as we are. But He will not leave us the same. Next year may have us wading through miry muck. We may have to spend time in some desperate situations. We may have to weather some troublesome times. But in the midst of it all, God is with us, helping us and shaping us into who He wants us to be. It is as the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Let us pray: Lord, help us to make the most of our time; help us to so fix our faith in You that You may redeem our time. Lift us out of our despair. Set our feet on solid ground. Steady us as we walk. Put a song of praise to You in our mouths! Give us patience, remembering that sometimes we can’t receive blessings until we’ve gone through the trial of waiting. We pray according to Your will and Your time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Imagine that you have an account in a bank, and that bank credits your account each morning with $86,400. Wouldn’t you be thrilled? But there is one stipulation: that account carries over no balance from day to day. Every morning it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the previous day. So what would you do? If you have any wisdom at all, you would spend every cent of that $86,400 on good things, on helpful things, on beautiful things, on lasting things.
The truth is, each of us has such an account. Its name is “Time.” Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds; every night it writes off as lost whatever you’ve failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance; it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account for you; each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use that day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There’s no going back; there’s no borrowing against tomorrow. You and I must live in the present on today’s deposits. May we invest our time so as to get from it the utmost in health and joy and peace! The clock is running right now. Make the most of today.
In a sense, that’s what these verses are telling us. Solomon’s point is that God has designed a life plan with so much time for each of us. Throughout our lives are these cycles of beginnings and endings, of planting and harvesting, of constructing and destroying, of bringing in and throwing out, of laughing and crying, of embracing and parting ways, of holding on and letting go, of mending and ripping out, of speaking up and shutting up, of loving and hating, of making peace and waging war. In each of these cycles we must decide how best to spend our time—and that timing is critical. All the experiences listed in these verses are appropriate at certain times. But the secret to peace with God is to discover and accept and appreciate His ultimately perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent His timing, which can lead to despair or rebellion or moving ahead without His advice.
Of course, we’d like to think that we’re in charge of our own destinies—that we’re in control. That was the gist of William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus,” that concludes with this stanza: “It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishments the scroll, / I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul.” Unfortunately, there’s one huge deception in that conclusion: Death wipes away the illusion of control in stark fashion. We are not unconquerable. For as Solomon put it so plainly and as experience will teach every one of us, there is a time to die.
So surely the wisdom of Ecclesiastes is something we should heed as we get ready for a new year! You and I are not gods unto ourselves; you and I are not in charge. We don’t control time, and it’s often even difficult to know the right time for much of anything. Yet here is the good news: There is One in charge who is more powerful, more wise, more just, and more merciful than we could ever pretend to be. Yes, the wrong does often seem to be quite strong, but don’t forget that God is still the ruler of all that is. And this God tenderly holds the times of our lives in His hands. We must rest content with that truth. It’s good to know that Jesus Christ is the master of my fate! Jesus Christ is the captain of my soul! Jesus Christ holds all the seasons of my life in His hands! And that is wisdom for daily living!
Still, we all face problems that seem to contradict God’s plan—maybe even His timing—but don’t ever let those times become barriers to your believing in Him. In fact, look at those times more closely, and you’ll be able to see that they’re really opportunities to discover that, without God, our life’s problems have no lasting solutions. So even in those times of endings and destruction and throwing out and crying and parting ways, place your trust in His timing—that He will work all times together for good to them who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
It’s been said that to realize the value of a year, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of a month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of a week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of an hour, ask two lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of a minute, ask a person who missed his plane. To realize the value of a second, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of a millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics. What is Solomon advising? In one respect, he wants us to treasure each moment we have. Remember that time waits for no one. It’s like the little truism that says: “Yesterday is history; tomorrow is mystery; today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!”
As the beginning of the third act of his play Our Town commences, Thornton Wilder has the stage manager speak a monologue critical to the meaning of the play. Having updated the gradual changes that have taken place and described the hilltop cemetery, the stage manager reminds us of this: “Now there are some things we all know, but we don’t take’m out and look at’m very often. We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars…everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it.”
The Bible tells us that it is God who plants eternity in the human heart. And that means we can never be completely satisfied with mere earthly pleasures and pursuits. We must never forget that we are created in God’s image. And because we are, we have a spiritual thirst. Because we are, we have eternal value. Because we are, nothing but the eternal God can truly satisfy us. He has built into us this restless yearning for the kind of perfect existence that can only be found in Him and in His perfect rule. Sure, He’s given us a tiny little glimpse of that perfection in the purest aspects of His creation. But it’s still only a glimpse. We cannot see into the future; we cannot comprehend everything. And that’s why we have to trust Him now and follow Him and make the most of our time as best as He shows us how.
Yes, I know the way is long and weary; it is a weary world. Perhaps that’s why we can lose hold of that eternal perspective. For in the midst of our faith, an old-natured atheist periodically rears its ugly head so that our focus diverts away from God and onto houses and names and earth and the temporary—and we lose hold of that something that’s eternal. Which is when it’s most vital for us to listen for the voice of our Lord Jesus saying, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”
We so often fail to realize that there is only one cure for all our ills. And it ain’t politics and it ain’t economics and it ain’t military might and it ain’t even philosophy or psychology or science. The sole cure for all our ills is union with our Lord. Only He can lift the burdens of those of us who are bent beneath our loads.
Every morning, the sunrise brings new light to a new day. Whether or not the clouds hide the actual rising of the sun, there is nonetheless always light enough to dispel the darkness of the previous night; there is always light enough to bring at least some degree of warmth and illumination for a brand new day. With my viewing of each sunrise, there’s a flood of questions that come to mind: Who or what will bring me tears today? Who or what will bring me laughter? What sort of challenges will I face? What stripe of adventures will I experience? These questions and the answers to them remind me that I am alive at least for one more day; they remind me that God has renewed even for me another day meant for living.
Surely the circumstances were dire for the prophet Jeremiah as well as for the people of his beloved country. It seemed as though the sun was setting to rise no more. But perhaps it was as he was catching sight of a sunrise over the Judean hills east of Jerusalem that he recorded these hopeful words in the midst of his dolorous Book of Lamentations: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”
A sign in a hotel lobby that was being remodeled stated, “Please be patient. Renovation in progress to produce something new and wonderful!” Perhaps we all should wear a sign like that! We too are unfinished projects under construction, being made into something wonderful. That is our hope, and hope is a combination of faith and patience; it’s the anticipation of good. And our hope is often in spite of our present circumstances—our present times. For the Christian, hope is not simple optimism or a denial of reality. The reason for our hope is Jesus Christ.
A little chapel in the hills of the Scottish Highlands has a sign chiseled in Gaelic on the front door. Translated into English, it says, “Come as you are, but don’t leave as you came.” When we come to the Lord we can come as we are. But He will not leave us the same. Next year may have us wading through miry muck. We may have to spend time in some desperate situations. We may have to weather some troublesome times. But in the midst of it all, God is with us, helping us and shaping us into who He wants us to be. It is as the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Let us pray: Lord, help us to make the most of our time; help us to so fix our faith in You that You may redeem our time. Lift us out of our despair. Set our feet on solid ground. Steady us as we walk. Put a song of praise to You in our mouths! Give us patience, remembering that sometimes we can’t receive blessings until we’ve gone through the trial of waiting. We pray according to Your will and Your time.
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