.Ecclesiastes 3:1-11a
Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.
He sets the time for birth and the time for death,
the time for planting and the time for pulling up,
the time for killing and the time for healing,
the time for tearing down and the time for building.
He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy,
the time for mourning and the time for dancing,
the time for making love and the time for not making love,
the time for kissing and the time for not kissing.
He sets the time for finding and the time for losing,
the time for saving and the time for throwing away,
the time for tearing and the time for mending,
the time for silence and the time for talk.
He sets the time for love and the time for hate,
the time for war and the time for peace.
What do we gain from all our work? I know the heavy burdens that God has laid on us. He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Reflection
Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth: just some of the women in the Bible that thought they were less valuable because they were childless. Their hope was exceeded when God finally answered their prayers, because their longed-for child was special, sent at the right time, with a specific mission from God.
I only waited seven years but I do remember that time of waiting, wondering if it would ever happen. In our modern world, I didn’t feel less valuable before she was born, but I did feel more fulfilled when she was.
Waiting on God’s timing and ‘keeping the faith’ can be testing. I wonder if our ‘barren’ women ever thought they would be blessed. Sarah, at least, seemed to have resigned herself to it. Should we not have learned from these women that God will give us what we need in His own time? Don’t we yet know that ‘Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses’?
This is a life lesson I’ve been learning again as I approach ordination. I’ve always been aware that God had plans for my life, yet I delayed them. Arriving at my current church 26 years ago, I felt I was there for a specific reason. I thought it was to support the minister, but she soon left: I didn’t pursue it, just waited. Now, five years after finally responding to God’s call, I am about to return to that same church as minister (NSM Local). Except, having put off God’s call for so long, I thought I was ready to return sooner and have had to relearn about things being ‘all in God’s time’.
I now have confidence that this is the time to move forward into ministry, and to live the life that God planned for me: seeking that fulfilment of listening to His voice, rather than my own, and providing for the church family I am called to support.
Prayer
Timeless One,
we recognise that your plans can be very different to ours.
When we wait for your timing,
we will benefit so much more
because we place ourselves into your care.
You know what is best for us,
will provide for all we need,
when it is needed.
Forgive us for trying to force your hand
and give us the confidence to trust in you,
now and forever. Amen.