“It’s About Time”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 14-15
The scripture we read this morning was used in a song some years ago by the Byrds called Turn, Turn, turn. To everything there is a season. The writer is Solomon, considered to be one of the wisest of men to ever live. In fact God came to him in a dream when he became King of Israel and said to him, Solomon, ask for whatever you want and I will give it to you. If God said that to you what would you ask for? Solomon’s reply was this Lord, I am only a little child and I do not know how to carry out my job. The people will be serving are too numerous to even count so please give me wisdom.
So God said since you asked for wisdom and not long life or wealth and since you didn’t ask me to take care of your enemies I will do it. I will give you wisdom but I will also give you what you have not asked for-riches and in your lifetime there will be no equal.
Solomon wrote down the book of Proverbs and also wrote down the book of Ecclesiastes. And God carried our His promise.
I think that most of us would agree that when it comes to TIME and Time management most of us would say that we rarely have too much time on our hands. Instead we are pushed on a daily basis to get everything done…. To take care of our “to do” list. To keep all of the plates spinning. If there is any area where we need [GUARDRAILS] it is in the area of TIME. There are 4 things I see here that God has to say about time.
(1) God’s Timing is sovereign. We know that but every one of us, from time to time question his timing. We wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers when we ask him to. How many of us have ever prayed for something-your prayer went unanswered or it wasn’t answered the way you wanted it or when you wanted it. And we start to wonder about God’s timing. They are hard questions. But I know this. God’s timing is best. In fact, His timing is perfect. It’s sovereign. What does that mean? It means God is in total control. Notice v. 1. There is an (NASB) appointed time for everything. Not most things. Not convenient things. All things. There is an appointed time in God’s timetable for everything. Now it may be obvious but I want to say a few things about His sovereignty. (1) God’s timing and our timing are not the same. He does not view things in the same way as we do so until we learn to see things through God’s eyes we will never understand His timing. (2) We see things one piece at a time. God sees the whole picture. When I was very young we would go down to Main street to stand in 20 degree weather to see the Christmas parade. But I could never really see enough. I was always curious about what was coming next. And so I would look as far as I could down the street so I could see what was coming. But I still could not see as far as I wanted to. God looks at things as though He is on top of the building. You know if you could get up high enough and get an aerial view, you would be able to see what has just passed by and you would see it clearly. You would see what is right in front of you and you would see what is coming and you would see it clearly and you would see it all at one time. What just went by, what’s there and what’s coming. We call that a linear view of time and that is what God has. But we’re always saying you know if I could just have known this was coming I could have been better prepared. God says “I know.” One things we can know about God is that He is never surprised. God’s timing is perfect. It’s sovereign.
(2) God’s timing is sufficient. He says in v. 3… there is a season for every activity under heaven. You may be in a place right now where you are wondering if God is ever going to show up. Your marriage is in trouble. Maybe you’re on the brink of losing your job. Maybe you already have. Maybe your health is declining and you don’t know what the outcome will be. Whatever your difficulty may be I cannot promise you that God’s going to answer your prayer the way you may want Him to but I can promise that you will make it through if you will hold on to Him.
Solomon says there is a time for every activity under Heaven. Everything. God has a time for everything. He is going to take care of you in everything. Not 99% Everything. Because God cares about every detail of your life.
You see, another thing this verse does is it speaks directly to every one of us including me. You see I’m the kind of person who is a list maker—I work with a to do list, I’ve got the plates spinning and when I see that one is slowing down or it’s wobbling, I want to fix it and then I read this scripture and God says I’ve got a season for every activity under Heaven. The paraphrased version of that is that God says, David you need to chill out. Take a chill pill. God says let me bring every event into your life that you need in my timing.
(3) God’s timing is seasonal. Look at the meat of what God says here. Vv. 2-8. Now I don’t know about you but I believe this passage is not really about weeping and mourning and laughing and dancing—it’s bigger than that. It’s about God’s timing. Notice this. Birth and death. Killing and healing. Tearing down and building up. War and peace. Do you see the pattern here? All of these are written in pairs and they are all opposites and they are all seasonal. This isn’t just about picking up stones and throwing them back. This passage is describing all of the different seasons of life. Life comes in seasons. There are seasons of loss and there are seasons of gain. And in whatever season we find ourselves we must learn to live life to the fullest. In other words I think God says to us here that “there’s only a period of time; a season of time in which I am going to do this in your life and then I’m moving on to something else in your life. That’s why it’s so important for us to know God’s timing.
It’s that way in your life and it’s that way in mine and in the life of the church. And if we don’t live in His timing we’re not willing to change when God says change then He will move on and find someone who will.
4. God’s timing is surprising. Now one thing we can know about God is that He is never surprised. He didn’t create the would and then say wow I can’t believe I did that. God never says the words, I can’t believe that happened. But you and I are often surprised daily. His timing surprises us.
One man was taking it easy, lying on the grass and looking up at the clouds. He was identifying shapes when he decided to talk to God. “God” he said “how long is a million years?” God answered, “well to me it’s about a minute.” The man asked “god how much is a million dollars?” God said, “to me it’s like a penny.” The man said well then God can I have a penny? God said sure, in a minute.
We’re not always ready for what God is about to do. We can usually think of a thousand reasons why we’re not ready to do what God wants us to do but when I look at these verses one of the things that jumps off the page at me is that our God is a very creative God. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and just about the time I think I have God figured out He surprises me and takes me into another season of life. He works in ways I never thought were possible. But then I’m not God. He is. And that would be a great thing for all of us to get hold of: we must stop trying to be God and learn to wait for His timing.
Let me give you 5 [GUARDRAILS] we all need to put in place.
[1] There is a time for everything but not for everything at once. All of us need to learn to focus. We attempt too many things and then we don’t do any of them properly. Paul said this one thing I do. Some of us need a don’t do list. We must keep our priorities in place.
[2] There is a reason for the season. Keep in mind seasons do not last forever. Let God do His work. Be patient.
[3] We cannot now what the future holds but we can know the One who holds the future.
[4] We must give up trying to be God. Trying to take care of everything and everybody.
[5] We must try to see the Big Picture. We are not God but we can trace His hand in our lives.
Bruce Larson tells how he helped people who were struggling. "For many years I worked in New York City and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with this yes-or-no decision. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a beautifully proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under this burden. ’Now that’s one way to live,’ I would point out to my companion, ’trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.’
On the other side of Fifth Avenue is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and there behind the high altar is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. He would say we have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, ’I give up, Lord; here’s my life. I give you my world, the whole world." Would you do that today?
