For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1
Time management. Organizing, planning, and dividing up your time for best results, has been the topic of many books on running a successful business. It even helps when “running” a successful family…when it can be done! Surely, soccer moms don’t do well without some type of calendar.
At creation, God established seed time and harvest, summer and winter, providing seasons so the Earth could self-manage (Genesis 8:22). In Daniel 2:21, we see that God changes times and seasons. Today’s verse and those that follow are reminders that God is in control of those changes. When it comes to timing, God’s plan for the earth has always been perfect. His time for you is as well. He is sovereign and in control.
Yet His timing and yours are often not the same. He has the long view of everything, while yours is far shorter, and you cannot see around the next corner. You may pray for God to do something and, in your mind, you set a certain timetable that can make waiting for His answer difficult. Again, in today’s verse, Solomon reminds you that there is correct timing for everything. God has promised that He cares for you… not just 90 percent of the time, but all the time.
As you pray and as you wait, always be ready for what it is that God is about to do. Be anticipatory, but recognize that God has His reasons for the seasons—including those mapped out for you. Let God do His perfect work in you. Pray for readiness to accept change when He brings it, and do it with gratitude. Ask that believers in Congress would seek God’s big picture for the plans they should establish for the government, and know that God will give it to them when they seek Him.
Today’s Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Psalm 104:5-24
He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
