WISDOM OF TIMING (1)

“To everything there is a SEASON, and a TIME for every purpose under heaven” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

GOD’S WORD provides delightful Insight into the WISDOM of TIMING: “To everything there is a SEASON, and a TIME for every purpose under heaven” (Eccl.3:1). The New American Standard Bibles says, “There is an APPOINTED TIME for everything. And there is a TIME for every event under heaven.” Times and Seasons are fore-ordained by God, who has scheduled the days of our lives. God has established specific times and predetermined seasons, which influence the affairs of our lives and affects all that happens, down through the annals of history. This simple, yet timely scripture, reminds us that we are to live by Faith in God’s Word of Truth, and trust in His Timings for all things.

Timing is everything! The scriptures profusely emphasize the importance of timing in all things. Every purpose is time-bound, and the timing must be appropriate in all we do. Many people have lost precious opportunities because of timing. Great breakthroughs have slipped off the hands of others just because they did not stick with a time frame. Timing has been so important from the Beginning and will continue to be.

The cyclical pattern of times and seasons was set by God Himself when He spoke the world into being. In His Wisdom, He set in motion a series of unchangeable, natural laws, which were to influence all aspects of life, as well as the wider world and universe. In the beginning, the Lord said: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the DAY from the NIGHT” (Gen.1:14). He positioned the sun and the moon in heaven’s firmament, for signs, seasons, days, and years. He called them into being, to govern the day and night (Gen.1:5-17).

When God called Israel out of Egypt to be His people, He also set appointed times and seasons for them, with feast days and sabbath days. He ordered holy convocations during which offerings and sacrifices were to be presented (Leviticus 23). All of these might have been in Solomon’s heart and caused him to reach the understanding that God has made everything beautiful in its own time, and that He has placed eternity in the heart of every person (v.11). In God’s economy, there is an appointed time for everything, and a scheduled time for every event under heaven: Times of birth and death; planting and gathering; killing and healing; and times to teardown and to build up (vv.2-3).

There are times for the contrasting events that impact the lives of everyone under the sun. There are times to weep and to laugh; to mourn and to dance; to cast stones and to gather stones; to embrace and to refrain from embracing; to gain and to lose; to keep and to throw away; to tear and to sew; to be silent and to speak; to love and to hate; and a time of war and of peace (vv.4-8).

Also significant was the timing of Jesus’ coming to the earth to redeem humankind. His coming at the time of Roman domination of the world was not accidental. If He had come at a different time, we probably would not be talking about the cross and its significance. He had to dies on a cross. The timing for the salvation of the world had to be right. God has a time frame even for the devil; he has a short time (Rev 12:12).

Walking in Wisdom involves learning to be sensitive to Timing: “See then that you WALK circumspectly, not as fools but as WISE, redeeming the TIME, because the days are evil. Therefore DO NOT BE UNWISE, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph.5:15-17). This implies ensuring that our timing aligns with every purposeful action we take. Timing is everything and it will take a fight and God’s favour to redeem: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...” (Joel 2:25). To be wise is to always be timely and time-sensitive.