-Devotion by Paula Kirkpatrick (MN)
“Timing is everything.” How often have you heard someone say that? It may be a familiar phrase, but those three words hold true in many areas of life.
Baking cookies? Take them out of the oven too soon, they fall apart. Take them out of the oven too late, they turn black and inedible.
In the sports world, there are plenty of examples of timing. The baseball player stealing a base, the wide receiver catching the quarterback’s pass, the long jumper planting his takeoff foot at the exact right moment.
Every comedian definitely realizes his joke’s punchline depends on the perfect pause to deliver its greatest impact, and hopefully a room full of laughter as well.
God has always known that “timing is everything.” The six days that God created the earth highlight this fact. During the first three days of Creation, God CHANGED a dark, wet environment into a world ready for living creatures. Each day of creation built upon the previous one, so that living vegetation, then animals, and ultimately Adam and Eve, would be able to thrive.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is an appointed time for everything.“ Verses 2-8 then give us detailed examples.
“A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.”
There is good, there is bad; there is productive, there is destructive; there is action, there is reaction. There is life, in all its ups and downs, each day, each event unfolding as God appointed it. In His time.
“He has made everything appropriate in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11a)
These are the events God has given us to occupy our lives. We live out these events with God’s love upon us. His love is unwavering and constant, throughout each joy and trial.
What is OUR response to our Creator, our loving Father?
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12,13)
Begin each new day rejoicing and striving to DO good, to SEE good in all that you do. Our labor, our life, is a gift of God.
“I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities.” (Ecclesiastes 3:22a)
Timing is everything. There is no better time to praise the Lord than today.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 104:35b)
Reflection Questions
- Think of an event in your life when “timing was everything.” How did it turn out?
- Have you ever questioned God’s timing? Who or what do you turn to when that happens?
Prayer
Dear God – I praise You for being Creator, Sustainer and Sovereign. Thank You for Your perfect ways. Help me to trust You and Your timing and fully rely on You through all seasons. Whatever a day may hold, may I spend it rejoicing in You and Your faithfulness, doing good, and finding good in my labor and the gifts You have generously given.
Seek Grow Love 