“To everything there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven….4. A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak….12. I know there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.”
For the last few days, I have had Ecclesiastes chapter 3 running through my mind. This morning I sat down and gave it a thorough reading, and what you are about to read is the result of that meditation. I think that overall, Solomon is telling us to accept life as it comes - as if we have a choice. We can plan our lives, and attempt to avoid all the pitfalls, but the good will come as well as the pitfalls. We just need to meet life head on and live it to its fullest. In verse 1 we are told that there is a season for everything, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” The word that stood out to me here was the word “purpose.” It is for sure that life will not always be as we want it, but if we realize that God has a purpose for our lives, that is, that He is involved in our lives, we will be able to meet the good and the bad with faith and courage. If we realize that God is in the equation, we will be more careful about how we live. Verse 4 tells us that there is:“A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The way this is worded we are led to understand that we do not have a choice in the matter. Indeed, there will be times when we will weep and mourn. We like to think that those times will not come, but inevitably they will. My point here is that if we see God working His purpose in our lives, we will not “hesitate,” but will meet those times head on. This also tells us to go ahead and weep and not try to keep a "stiff upper lip,” but to accept the time of weeping and mourning as part of our lives. But there is also a “time to laugh”and a “time to dance.” When those times come, we should really laugh and really dance. The bad times in life should not keep us from really enjoying the good times to laugh and to dance. Again, if we see God’s purpose at work in our lives, we will be able to fully rejoice. Verse 7b tells us that there is “a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” This is one piece of advice that we should all take. I would word it this way: “There is a time to shut up, and a time to speak up.” Real godly wisdom is to know the difference between the two times. As one who has spoken out of turn a few times in my life, I can say that the better part of wisdom is to shut up until there is really something to say. Again, we can focus on God’s purpose for our lives. Some wise person said that God gave us two ears and one mouth. This means that we should listen twice as much as we talk. I can imagine that you, like me, have had times in your life when you wish that you had followed this admonition. I have found that when I trust God in what to say, my advice has been good and was well-taken. Another good thing to learn in the matter of speaking up is that just because we think it we do not have to say it unless it will do some good. Finally, verses 12-13 tell us: “I know that there is no good in them, but for a (person) to rejoice, and do good in his/her life. And also that every (person) should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” God has gifted us with the capacity to enjoy life in all of its ups and downs, and to rejoice. That, too, is part of God’s purpose for your life and mine. Let’s do it. Amen Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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