There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
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,
Ecclesiastes 3:1,5-7 (NIV)
Ecclesiastes gives us a Biblical perspective on timing. Some of these things we are in full control of, and others, the timing will be imposed on us. Either way, just know that timing is everything.
In these verses we learn the time when certain activities should be done. I think the hidden message, if we read between the lines, is that there is a time to start and a time to stop a task. Think about how many tasks we do that have no value. Something that I do that serves no real purpose would be scrolling mindlessly on my phone. Typically that adds no value to my life. It is just something that I do, because the verse did not say there is a time for doom scrolling.
Seriously, our time should be used wisely. We have a limited amount on Earth, so we should make our time meaningful. Wasting time is just that, wasting time. One thing we do not have enough of, and cannot get more of, is time, so do not waste it, make it count. Yes, downtime has its place as well. That is why God gave us the Sabbath, a day designed for rest. However, when you are not resting, your time should be spent sowing and reaping.
On the topic of sowing and reaping, we should know when to start and when to stop. Just as when you plant certain vegetation, you have to do it in the right season. If you plant something out of season, you cannot expect the harvest to grow because the timing was wrong. Knowing when to stop a task is vitally important as well. What is the point in constantly sowing but never reaping the harvest? Later in this same chapter it tells us we should enjoy our labor, Ecclesiastes 3:13. We should enjoy and get satisfaction out of our lives.
My natural tendency is to save, specifically to save money. I am sure you are thinking, that is great. That comes with two problems. First, I waste time trying to save a buck. Second, what am I saving it for? As I mentioned before, we have only a limited time on this earth, and we do not know when our time will be up. Ecclesiastes 3:2 tells us we have a time to be born and a time to die. I have no control over the latter, so what or who am I saving for? If I never spend what I have saved, one day I will be a victim of time. I cannot take it with me. There is plenty that can be said about giving it away and being generous. Although I am cheap, I am also a cheerful giver. That could be its own devotional.
This devotional has absolutely been about me writing to myself for others to read. I say that because if it were not for my wife to keep me balanced, I would sow but never reap the harvest. As we have learned from Ecclesiastes 3, we need to make sure our time and energy are used wisely.
Heavenly Father our God. Thank You for the gift of life and time. Help me to know when to sow and when to reap. Teach me how to use the time You have given me wisely. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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