What Time is It?

Springtime in Antananarivo where it was time for the jacaranda to bloom. 

Scripture:

Eccl. 3:1    For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Observation:

The great writer of wisdom is defining reality for his readers. We are a people who are bounded by time and space and within these bounds there are seasons and activities which are a part of our reality. There can be no Genesis without Exodus, no death without birth, and no harvest without planting. Therefore, while we may have eternity in mind, we must be responsible to live in the time which we have been given. This means that we cannot ignore the good times and the bad, for this is our time. 

Wishing this season to end so that you can enter the next means that you miss out on what this time has in store for you. By procrastinating you actually provide space for the enemy to trick you out of what God may have prepared for you. Youth is enticed by the idea that it has all the time in the world; that there will be another time when decisions can be made but this is the time to be free. It’s all a trick if you don’t see that the present is your time to embrace and to follow God. 

Application:

The reality of these times keeps hitting me squarely in the face. Just as we’ve watched my mother pass on in death, we await the arrival of a new grandchild next month. There is a time in which we are born and a life which we are to live, but there is also a time to die. My mother has passed on, as has most of her generation, but the world goes on. She lived her life well and faithfully followed God in her time, but her time is now gone. Her time will be passed on to another, a little boy who will soon make his voice known in this world. It’s his time, he will be born and it will be his opportunity to embrace his season and to live well. 

As a teenager I used to wish my way into the future, wondering who I would marry, and whether I would ever have children? Sometimes I failed to live in the present, dreaming of a time to come. I think I’ve done that far too often throughout life, wondering what will be next. Now, however, I’d like to slow things down. Time is racing by far too quickly and I want to embrace every day that I get to spend with my husband. I want to record in the memory banks of my mind the joy and laughter of two little granddaughters who call me “Bagogo.” I want to savor the rich experiences of traveling to Africa and worshipping God with my brothers and sisters in the faith. It’s all going by too fast.

The older I become the more I understand the writer of these words of wisdom. My strengths finder says that I’m an achiever. I like to get things done and check them off of my to-do list. But now I’m learning that there are times to seek, or to go and get things done, but also times to let things go. There’s a season when we gather things for our lives, or there are the days when we let go of the clutter and embrace that which really brings us joy. There’s a time to take things apart, and other times to build them back up. Each part of time is vital, even when we may not feel as if things are moving forward. Learning to hold my tongue has been a life-long lesson, but there’s a time when silence is the best answer. 

What time is it? That’s different for each and every one of us, but we all have our current moment in time. The temptation is to ignore the time and wish for another. That’s not our choice. The real question is what we will do with this time which we have been given. God wants to use this season so that we can grow and become more like Jesus. Don’t wish that away. 

Prayer:

Lord, help me to live faithfully in the day, and specifically, in the moment. Thank you for the gift of this time. Amen.