“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time…” Ecclesiastes 3:11
There is a time, a place, and a season for all things, Ecclesiastes 3 tells us. The scope of one’s life and days travels down many pathways. Although some paths may be littered with the less-than-beautiful side of life, it is on this walk where our living is carried out.
How appropriate in times of loss to find tears? And for times of gladness are we met with rejoicing? It is all a part of this wonderful life we live.
Every part may not bring fond memories or the fulfillment of future dreams, but living life beautifully says I trust God even when I do not understand all the paths upon which my feet stand. Whether the heart is in sadness and sorrow, or lifted in jubilation and joy – wherever and whatever part of life I am living, Lord, help me to know that this is just a little piece of the bigger picture You have in store for me and it is all beautiful in its time.
The varied seasons of life will come and go, but God’s sovereign plan and hand are steady and faithful through them all. He is the one who takes the not-so-beautiful and the beautiful and makes all of them work together for good (Romans 8:28).
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Those words penned from Nehemiah 8:10 we generally claim or hear quoted when people are experiencing adversities or may have a monumental task ahead of them. Sometimes they are even expressed in moments of celebration. For days of sorrow or for days of peace, any day is a good day where a child of God can declare, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
One thing I have learned in life is that we do go through many different seasons and circumstances. Some good. And yet, some which can make one feel a little void or empty. Happiness and joy can’t seem to be found in any activity or normal pleasure.
During these seasons, one must remember that life will always act as a variable. It may seem a simple thing to say or write, but in the midst of the challenges and sorrows, yes, it is sometimes hard for us to see these truths, therefore, we must be gently reminded of how things really are at times. And that is life changes. Things get added and taken away. Some changes affect how we feel and when we base our feelings on these variables we experience many ups and downs.
What then? It is the unchanging, the solid, the constant that we need to build everything else upon. As long as we live in this world things will always change. One hundred percent of our time will not stay in a state of sameness. We will have times of exaltation, growth, and increase. But, we will also experience those things that grieve us, break our hearts, and spend our energies with the multitude of tears flowing from us (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).
Therefore, since we are susceptible to these changes we must base our life, our joy, our foundation to everything else upon Him who never changes.
God is our constant! “For I am the Lord, I change not,” He exclaimed in Malachi 3:6. We also have this promise written through James: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” (James 1:17; emphasis added).
Our Heavenly Father will always be the wonderful, Heavenly Father that He has always been. No matter how your circumstances may feel to you right now, that truth will never change.
That being said, if the happiness and joy you once felt or usually feel have escaped you today, perhaps it is because we have become more dependent on too many changing factors rather than filling our heart, mind, soul, and life with the true joy of Him and from Him that never changes.
In dealing with many sorrows and afflictions himself, David penned his own beautiful words, declaring the assurance of his joy. He stated, “And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation,” (Psalm 35:9).
When we bring our all to focus on God… When we tune our souls into the proper source, we will find that situations may still be adverse, but because I have Him, because I have a relationship with God, and because His salvation has raised me from far worse than where my soul would be without Him, I can still rejoice!
I think it’s safe to say that we all want it to feel good all the time. But feeling good and have everything go our way or turn out just as we desire is not a prerequisite for true joy because those things and feelings will also and always change. But my God won’t, and when it is He that I open my heart to and allow all that He is to shine on me and everything that I am feeling, then I can experience that true, unchanging joy!
At the time of this writing, I have a sink full of dishes waiting for me to tend to them. Normally my routine is to stay caught up on chores such as these, but this day, I decided the dishes could wait.
As we are coming down to the end of the warmer season, I have felt the drive in me to make sure I grab bits of it to savor before it all goes to sleep for the winter. So sometimes, things I want done, according to my normal routine, can wait because the days of enjoying lounging with a book on the porch are going to be fewer, and then down to none, the closer we draw deeper into the changing seasons.
And that’s okay. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us about a time for everything and of the different seasons under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-13). Everything has its proper place in our lives, including the enjoyment of grabbing these small, but significant moments.
As we are coming into what I call our “tucking in” time, and as the days of their cold seem to hang around well past their prime, we will yearn and wish for these “porch moments”. We will plan, dream, and look forward to revisiting these simple pleasures of life.
While each season brings its own pleasures and reasons for gratefulness, the ones we can’t touch during that time are the ones we ponder about, wishing we had grabbed more of those momentary pleasures.
Life really adds up to something beautiful when we find the value in every day we have been given, regardless of the season. But while we are here, enjoy what’s before you today. Invest in the time you have with those you love and spend time with them now.
It is inevitable that the seasons of life will change. So today, step into whatever your “porch moment” is and enjoy the gift of that present time that God has blessed you with.
Life is not all about work, pursuing, or being all that you can be. Those are important and have their place on our schedules. But so do rest, and just taking a free moment to breathe, step back, and enjoy this beautiful life God has given. We are here. Look up from your work – not to be lazy or idle, but to make space in it all to simply savor your own “porch moment”, whatever it may look like. For one day, you’ll wish you had.
There is good to be found in every moment God has given.
“I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” – Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.” – Ecclesiastes 2:24
“Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 8:15
“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” – Psalm 126:3
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24
“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Those words penned from Nehemiah 8:10 we generally claim or hear quoted when people are experiencing adversities or may have a monumental task ahead of them. Sometimes they are even expressed in moments of celebration. For days of sorrow or for days of peace, any day is a good day where a child of God can declare, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
One thing I have learned in life is that we do go through many different seasons and circumstances. Some good. And yet, some which can make one feel a little void or empty. Happiness and joy can’t seem to be found in any activity or normal pleasure.
During these seasons, one must remember that life will always act as a variable. It may seem a simple thing to say or write, but in the midst of the challenges and sorrows, yes, it is sometimes hard for us to see these truths, therefore, we must be gently reminded of how things really are at times. And that is life changes. Things get added and taken away. Some changes affect how we feel and when we base our feelings on these variables we experience many ups and downs.
What then? It is the unchanging, the solid, the constant that we need to build everything else upon. As long as we live in this world things will always change. One hundred percent of our time will not stay in a state of sameness. We will have times of exaltation, growth, and increase. But, we will also experience those things that grieve us, break our hearts, and spend our energies with the multitude of tears flowing from us (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).
Therefore, since we are susceptible to these changes we must base our life, our joy, our foundation to everything else upon Him who never changes.
God is our constant! “For I am the Lord, I change not,” He exclaimed in Malachi 3:6. We also have this promise written through James: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” (James 1:17; emphasis added).
Our Heavenly Father will always be the wonderful, Heavenly Father that He has always been. No matter how your circumstances may feel to you right now, that truth will never change.
That being said, if the happiness and joy you once felt or usually feel have escaped you today, perhaps it is because we have become more dependent on too many changing factors rather than filling our heart, mind, soul, and life with the true joy of Him and from Him that never changes.
In dealing with many sorrows and afflictions himself, David penned his own beautiful words, declaring the assurance of his joy. He stated, “And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation,” (Psalm 35:9).
When we bring our all to focus on God… When we tune our souls into the proper source, we will find that situations may still be adverse, but because I have Him, because I have a relationship with God, and because His salvation has raised me from far worse than where my soul would be without Him, I can still rejoice!
I think it’s safe to say that we all want it to feel good all the time. But feeling good and have everything go our way or turn out just as we desire is not a prerequisite for true joy because those things and feelings will also and always change. But my God won’t, and when it is He that I open my heart to and allow all that He is to shine on me and everything that I am feeling, then I can experience that true, unchanging joy!
Word For Life Says... 