Time is precious, and there is a time for everything

There is no more scarce resource that we are given to steward in our lives than time.

We cannot create more time. We cannot define the amount of time we have on this earth. We do not know the length of time we have here on earth.

In writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon illustrates that there is a time for everything in life, and he uses human paradoxes to describe the importance of timing and seasons.

From Ecclesiastes chapter three, there is a time:

To give birth : To die

To plant : To uproot what is planted

To kill : To heal

To tear down : To build up

To weep : To laugh

To mourn : To dance

To throw stones : To gather stones

To embrace : To shun embracing

To search : To give up as lost

To keep : To throw away

To tear apart : To sow together

To be silent : To speak

To love : To hate

For war : For peace

As we go through our lives, we will undoubtedly encounter most if not all of those times. As we do, our challenge becomes having the wisdom to understand the season that we are in and act accordingly.

Some of these seasons are obvious to us. When someone dies, that is clearly a time for weeping. And when we are listening to jokes being told, that is a time for laughing, not mourning.

But other times are not as obvious to us.

The pull of this world can sometimes be a distraction and run counter to the appropriate action for the season of life we are in. For instance, there may be a time when we really want to keep something, but wisdom tells us we must throw it away.

To have wisdom in the less obvious seasons of life, we must become familiar with God’s word. He has given us a treasure trove of practical wisdom to be found in Proverbs, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, James and many other books.

We also must be in tune with the Holy Spirit. Once the word is planted in us, the Spirit can guide us in daily life to make wise choices and decisions.

While there are times for all of the humanistic activities we will engage in throughout our life, the time for our immersing ourselves in God’s word and being totally filled with his Spirit is — always.