In Its Own Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 ¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ²A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, ⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ⁵a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, ⁶a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ⁷a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, ⁸a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. ⁹What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time.

I’ve been reading a great study on the scripture above. I’ve always loved the verses so this in-depth study has been enjoyable as well as insightful. People, including myself, tend to get antsy when the ‘season’ of life in which they find themselves isn’t one they particularly enjoy.

For instance, yesterday I was out shopping with my cousin, Cheryl. Being curly headed lasses, we were not excited about the drizzly weather making giant bird nests of our hair. More than one complaint was uttered about the temperature, too. It wasn’t cool enough to suit us, as opposed to the complaints of the cold weather we experienced last week or so. We are in a season where the Lord is healing our drought stricken land with precious rain and all we considered was our stinking hair. What an ungrateful pair we were. People complain when it’s hot and complain when it’s cold. Wet or dry matters not, someone will complain about it.

The referenced verses today remind us there is a time and place for everything under the sun; all things come and go in the appointed time, its season. The same drizzly rain sounded very pleasant as I lay in bed in the wee hours appreciating it. What wishy-washy people we are!

From a strictly human point of view, as men strive to find meaning in the things of the world, the contrasts and cycles of life that men endure are frustrating. But Solomon realizes that there is more than this world, and a deeper wisdom than human wisdom. When, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon stepped outside the human realm and reflected on the big picture, he realized that "[God] has made everything beautiful in its time" (vs. 11). The "meaninglessness" of life from the human point of view becomes "beauty" when God's plans and purposes are considered.

Oh Lord, may we have the discernment to see life from Your point of view, and may we have the wisdom to recognize the beauty of Your plans and purposes as You work through our lives.

No U-Turns

I was incredibly excited this morning to wake hearing my alarm clock go off. Rarely do I actually sleep late enough to hear it and I always feel like I’ve gotten away with sleeping in. It goes off at 4:50, so it’s still early, just later than I usually sleep. I thanked the Lord for giving me another day, watching over me in the night and all that extra sleep!

I sat down to write the blog and was dismayed to find my right shoulder joint fussing when I moved the mouse around. Being blessed to be able to use both hands easily, I switched the setting on my mouse to be left handed. I was saying, “Thank you, Jesus” for being able to do that and there it came, the holy tap, tap, tap. I spiritually ‘heard’ the word double-minded.  

While being double-handed is good, double-mindedness is not. In his New Testament letter, the apostle James twice uses the term double-minded (James:1:8; 4:8). Being double-minded is a problem that can damage Christians and can manifest itself in several areas of their lives.

The Greek word translated "double-minded" is dipsuchos, from dis, meaning "twice," and psuche, meaning "mind." James uses it to describe someone who is divided in his interests or loyalties, wavering, uncertain, two-faced, half-hearted. The first area of double-mindedness James addressed concerns how we pray (James:1:5-8). James describes one who is dubious and indecisive in prayer as "a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Doubt and irresoluteness in our communication with God short-circuit our effectiveness in prayer. Before asking God for anything, we should first ask ourselves questions that directly bear on our prayers:

• Is what I am asking according to His will? The apostle John tells us why this is important: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John:5:14).
• Are my attitude and life in tune with the will of God? John stresses the role of obedience: "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John:3:22).
• Are my motives self-centered or God-centered? James says be careful what you pray for: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James:4:3).

If we can answer yes to the first two questions and "God-centered" to the third question, then we should have no problem staying single-minded in prayer. God responds to us according to His mercy and righteousness, not ours.

As I was meditating on ‘double-minded’ for this post I realized it is manifested in our lives many ways. For instance, when reading scripture and/or sharing scripture with someone, you or they respond with, “yes, but…” the acknowledgement of what scripture says is thrown out the window and replaced with rationalization about why it does not apply to the immediate situation you are discussing. I know this is fact because I used to do it when rationalizing my life choices. I claimed to believe the Bible but insisted my circumstances were exempt when it suited me. My mother-in-love simply stated in one such conversation, if I believed the Bible, I must believe the entire Bible, not pick and choose the parts I liked. I was not spiritually mature enough at the time to know I was being double-minded and making U-Turns in my thinking. That was a defining moment in my spiritual life and, consequently, my entire life changed. Basically, she told me to get my ‘but’ out of the way… and I am forever grateful.

We must assimilate God's words and ideals; they must become a part of us; we must keep them in our minds and hearts. "Purify your hearts, you double-minded," counsels the writer of the epistle (James 4:8). We should pray without doubting, read God's Word with great care, fellowship without bias, have faith while consistently keeping God's law, and speak edifying words that inspire friends and brethren to honor God. With single-minded attention to God's will as shown in His Word, we can draw near to God and He will draw near to us.