A Time for Everything
- The Narrow Path
- Dec 29, 2023
- 3 min read
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT.)
The end of the year always brings about a time of reflection as we ready ourselves for what’s to come in the new year. While we are encouraged to focus on gratitude, which is a very important and Biblical thing, I wanted to take time today to remind you that there’s a time for everything.
If we turn to the pages of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there we find Biblical truth to support this:
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
As we walk through the weekend, and prepare to turn the page from 2023 into 2024, these verses from Ecclesiastes are a comfort to my heart, and I hope they are to you, too. 365 days is a long time that can seemingly go by so quickly, and yet, still holds a lot of emotion.
Some buried loved ones this year. Others gave away their children in marriage. Some brought new life into the world, while others suffered the painful loss of a child. Young men and women signed up to serve our country, while others never made it home. Some people saw dreams fulfilled, while others lean into the desires of their hearts and wait on God’s plan for their lives.
Ecclesiastes communicates the emotional song and dance of what it’s like to experience life on Earth as we anticipate the return of Jesus. In our broken world, we are constantly in an emotional flux as we navigate the suffering, and struggles of this life.
For some, 2023 may be a year to forget, while others remember it as one of the most blessed of their lives. Regardless, I am so grateful that we have a Father in Heaven that chose to send His one and only Son to enter this world in human form. It is because of this decision that we can lean into the truth that Jesus knows exactly how we feel. Jesus was fully God and fully man.
Jesus wept in sorrow, sympathy, and compassion. Jesus asked his Father to remove the cup of suffering. Jesus suffered deeply for us. Jesus was rejected by his closest friends.
As we step into the New Year, no matter what season(s) you’ve found yourself moving into and out of during 2023, may you rest in knowing that Jesus is saying to you, “I know. Me too.”
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