Sun 13 Feb

You may never have heard of the Book of Ecclesiastes or even read it until the last few Sundays. In one sense, the writer is telling us what life is like in reality. According to Solomon, what we do is pointless and meaningless. What is the point of building a business empire only to pass it on to someone who will make a mess of it? What is the meaning of a loved one dying when they had their whole life ahead of them? 

Ecclesiastes raises these perplexing questions which you would think that the wisest man in Israel would have the knowledge and wisdom to answer. But in these opening chapters he appears to say that everything is meaningless. There is no point behind it all. 

Ecclesiastes 3 is the most well known section of the Book. “There is a time for everything.” What lies behind the various times is very important. Solomon is giving us a picture of a providential God in these verses. Have a look at the opposites displayed in these verses. “A time to love and a time to hate.” “A time to embrace and a time to refrain.” “A time to be born and a time to die.” 

Not everyone is in the same situation. There are those in the circumstances of their life who are weeping, and others who will be experiencing a time of laughter. However, in every aspect of life, God in His providence knows exactly what you need in that situation. How have you seen God at work in the various times of your life?