A Time for Everything
3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every [a]event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear 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 stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
Many of the things in this passage we would easily embrace, even if they may be difficult, like giving birth. Would we argue against planting or healing, laughing or dancing, gathering stones or building? Certainly not! Yet Solomon doesn’t stop with those easy things, and includes their “opposites”, dying, killing, tearing down, mourning and weeping.
Oh yes, we love those, right!? I know, not really, but he doesn’t stop there. We have giving up, throwing away, tearing apart, hating and even war. Woah, are all these really necessary?? As Solomon says in v. 10, “I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men…” and it includes all these things.
That doesn’t mean we are all suited for war or throwing stones, any more than some of us are good at planting. We know that only half the population can give birth, even if our culture denies it, and in short supply are those skilled at sewing or building. Think on the “worst”, a time for war, that seems nuts. We should all want world peace, right?
But God knows that there are those in this world who do not and will not accept peace. If it were not for good men and women doing battle against the powers of evil, the world would be overrun. If all the good people refused to fight, would the evil ones stop? We often say, it takes two to fight, but not always.
So then, we see again that God has made us all for different purposes, even for callings with which some of us are uncomfortable. If God has called you to something difficult, don’t run away. We see how far Jonah got in that fruitless endeavor, and even then he was hardly a willing tool in God’s hands.
Instead, submit your heart and life to the hands of the master crafter, let Him mold you and shape you. Find comfort in His design, and don’t let our culture tell you aren’t good enough. Your maker knows better, He knows you better than anyone, and He will accomplish what is best when we are willing to walk in His path. Though it be straight and narrow, and fraught with danger, His rod and His staff, they will comfort us along the way.