Enough Time

DEVOTION

ECCLESIASTES

ENOUGH TIME

Eccl 3:1-8

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

NIV

Clearly this is one of the more famous sayings of Solomon. There is a time who everything, a season for every activity under the sun. Why? Do we have to wait for just the right moment? In the case of birth and death, it does not seem that is up to us. We have not control of either of those seasons. Just recently we heard of a man suing his parents because they gave birth to him without his permission, against his will. Who knows when we are born and when we are to die? Only the Lord. The rest of these pairs of contrasting activities we have some say as to whether we engage in them or not. It does seem some are activities of everyday life, while others would have to be a choice. The idea of either killing or healing and loving or hating are most certainly choices we would have to make or should not make. It would never be right to kill or hate, in fact Jesus says it we hate in our heart, and then we are killing. The rest we have would think are a normal daily lifecycle. It does make us think how crazy life can be. There is a range of emotions and activities which we engage in over the course of our lives. Although we are doubtful about the time to keep and a time to throw away. We just can’t seem to throw anything away, we would much rather keep everything, the material things we have, as well as the way things are, that is how our life is. Don’t even change the furniture please. Why get a new one, the old one works fine. But the point is that there is a cycle to our life and we have better get used to it as that is how God designed how life for his creation is. Although it may not have been his choice for us to die, Adam made that choice for all of us, but God made the choice we should live, rather than die. He overrides that choice of Adam, through Jesus. Now, if we are in Christ there is no longer a season to die. If fact, in Christ there may not be a season to uproot, kill, tear down, weep, mourn, scatter, refrain, give up, throw away, and tear, to be silent, hate, or be at war, especially with God. Maybe there is just enough of the right time.