Ecclesiastes 3:1-14
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot."
(ECCLESIASTES 3:1-2)
Pansies love cold weather, but they wilt in the summer sun. Marigolds love the heat but die in the cold. There's nothing to do but uproot the plants when they're out of season. Seasons are inescapable. It's best to work with them rather than against them.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 is a famous Bible passage that lists many of the seasons of life. It was made familiar in a popular song years ago. But the song did not reveal what the writer of these verses was getting at. It is in verse 14: "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him."
This sentiment does not appeal to our modern culture. We would rather revere ourselves. But there is more to life than we can understand, much less control. Just as we cannot escape the seasons that govern the lives of plants, we cannot escape the fact that we were created for God's glory. Whatever season of life we find ourselves in, we thrive best when we glorify Him.
INSIGHT
NEXT TIME YOU VISIT A GARDEN, REVERE THE ONE WHO RULES OVER THE SEASONS OF LIFE. HE MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
2 Samuel 17-18
Psalm 144
1 Thessalonians 5
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14
New Living Translation (NLT)
A Time for Everything
3 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.
THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD
The way people talk about love is often fleeting and fickle. Love is something you can fall in or out of at any moment. But God's love is something altogether different. Do you know how?
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