This Day in History: 0000-02-19
February 19 – Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
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.
What do people get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
When I was 16 years old, I had a car accident only 4 days after I got my license. Obviously, I was devastated, and from my limited teen-aged viewpoint, this was the end of the world. When my dad came to pick me up from the scene (my car was totaled) he told me something I will never forget, and that I have clung to through so many stages of my life. He said, “This too shall pass.”
I don’t know why that simple phrase, which he certainly didn’t come up with, has been so significant to me, but it has. Every time I read this passage from Ecclesiastes, I am reminded of that phrase, and I think they’re sort of saying the same thing.
There is a time for every season, so no matter the season you’re in right now, it’s going to pass. Whether you’re on a mountaintop or in a valley, it’s going to pass. There will be days filled with the celebration of new life; and days spent grieving lost life. There will be days that seem fruitless despite your hard work; and days when the abundant harvest seems far greater than what your work deserved. You are going to spend days so deep in the pit of grief you can’t see a brighter day ahead; and you’ll spend days so exuberantly filled with joy and laughter that you can’t imagine ever feeling sorrow again. There will be the joy of new and exciting relationships; and the sorrow of seeing relationships end. God will call you to sit quietly and learn; and he’ll call you to boldly speak out. There will be times when you must choose peace and times when you will need to fight. No matter the season, though, my friend, this too shall pass!
In light of that truth, may we all learn to cherish the highs, and endure the lows. May we remember that in all things, our mighty God is working. He is making beauty out of it all. May we keep our hearts set on eternity, and remember the limitations of our current perspective. May we trust our sovereign God every day of our lives, living in the truth that even this broken existence will one-day pass and we will live forever with Him. May every single one of us remember, one thing that will never pass is this truth – we are FOREVER, His dearly loved daughters and sons!