Daily devotional · September 22
A Season for Everything
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
Around this time of year the light changes and the air turns cooler, and it is hard not to notice that seasons pass. The Preacher lists fourteen pairs of times: birth and death, planting and uprooting, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing. Life is not one flat mood. We tend to resist the seasons we did not choose, wanting laughter when it is time to grieve or busyness when it is time to rest. The wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:1 is to discern what season we are in and to live faithfully in it, trusting that God makes everything beautiful in its time. If you are in a hard season, it will not last forever. If you are in a fruitful one, receive it with thanks. Today, name the season you are in, in a single line, and ask God what one thing he wants you to do in it.
Also read
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Prayer
God of every season, help me see where I am and live faithfully here. I trust you with what comes next.