APR 22

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Memorise Romans 8:28
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

After Solomon describes his fruitless quest for meaning in life, in trying to find true happiness through human wisdom, labour and riches, he concludes that it is all vanity and vexation of spirit.

He now launches into a second discourse where he describes his observations concerning life. This will run from Ecclesiastes 3-6. He observes the varied and often foolish ways in which common men carry out their lives under the sun, and critiques and comments on various things which he observes in their lives.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, he first looks at life in general and observes the cycle of life as a whole. In the same way that he observed the cycle of nature in Chapter One, he now observes the cycle of human life and comes to a similar conclusion – that God is sovereign, and man is mortal. With his vast intellect, he looks across all the affairs of man’s life and realises that no matter what man does in trying to prevent certain things or make certain things happen, everything and anything that happens is in the hands of a sovereign God. Everything has an appointed time and season, and everything that happens fulfils a specific purpose, not by chance, not by fate, but because of the will of God. God is the one who is in charge. He alone decrees how, when and where things happen. He alone also knows why it will happen and who will be involved. Yet we are not alarmed because we know that as things happen in accordance to God’s purpose, it will always be for the very best. His purposes are always perfect and will never disappoint.

Dear teen, do you trust in God’s perfect purposes? Do you realise that everything and anything in your life happens for a reason? If you are a child of God, you know that all things will certainly work together for good because they happen in accordance to God’s purposes. There is no such thing as chance, luck, or coincidence or random happenings. God is always in control of your life and everything that happens in it! Do you have the faith to believe?

Thought: God never moves without purpose or plan.
Prayer: Lord, grant me the faith to believe that You always have a perfect plan!