A Season for Everything

This was written by Mark Matlock and is from his book "Wisdom On...Time & Money". I thought it was very good.

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I heard a story about a man who learned his father had just died.
The man reacted to the news in a rather unusual way. He tried to
ignore it--to pretend it didn't happen. Why? He wanted to be in a
productive, joyful season. He wanted his life during that time to be
about good things. He didn't want his time to be about loss and
sadness and grieving. Try as he might, though, he couldn't make
his plan work. He couldn't postpone his grief. He eventually had to
break down and submit to the season he was in.

King David knew what he was talking about when he told God: "My
times are in your hands" (Psalm 31:15). We don't control our times.
We have little say over the season of life we live in or how long it lasts.
David's son Solomon used every bit of his God-given wisdom when he
wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8--

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity 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 tear 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 scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

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.

An essential element in using our time wisely is recognizing the
season in which God has placed us and embracing it. For example,
a person shouldn't expect life to be full of wild celebrations in a season
of mourning. On the flip side, it's a shame when people miss a season
of good times because they're too busy thinking about all the sad things in life.

If you're an unmarried person, God's Word says you should view
your present life as a season to "refrain from embracing" (having sex).
Then when you become a newlywed, it's time to enjoy your
season of "embracing."

We must all submit to the God who determines our times. Our
moments are in his hands. It's pointless to say, "I will reject God
because this is not a season of laughing or dancing or peace or
building." The only wise option is to ask God to help us live wisely
in whatever season we find ourselves--to help us make the most of
it--because soon enough it will pass, and then we'll find ourselves
in a different season.

SELF-EVALUATION

Ask yourself: What season am I in right now? Read through
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 again. Which of those times best describes
your current circumstances?

Now that you've identified your season, ask God to help you
understand how to live wisely in that time. Ask him to help you
recognize your personal season and make the most of your hours
and days for as long as your life lasts.