To Everything There is a Season

The first time I heard the words, “To everything there is a season” it was a song sung by the Byrds in the ‘60s (I’m dating myself). I just loved the song. I had no idea that the lyrics came right out of the Bible. Years later, I found them in the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes. The verses speak of changing seasons. Our lives are a constant ebb and flow of changes. There are seasons of sitting, of predictability, but they don’t last.

The author of those verses understood that God was present in all seasons. Hundreds of years later another writer would describe Jesus as the same yesterday, today and forever. Still another would speak of God as the Alpha and Omega. He is the firm foundation on which we can stand when everything around us is shifting.

Changes can be difficult. We resist the unknown because the familiar, even if it’s not so hot, is more comfortable. Like the Israelites, we can begin to think the past was better because change requires so much and we’d rather not go there. But even if the present is going well, God sometimes asks us to let go of the present good so he can bring about the future best. He asks us to trust. Not always an easy thing to do.

If you have never read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, I encourage you to do so. In those words you will find an outline of your life’s journey. Another ‘60s anthem said, “the times they are a’changing.” How very true. It’s for us to watch for God’s hand in the changes we experience. It’s there if we look.