Don't Resent The Hard Times
Enjoy the season you are in and seek to see what God is doing.
Life has so many different seasons.
Like the four seasons we go through each year, the soul has seasons of struggle, blessing, fear, joy, and uncertainty. As Christians, we know that through these seasons, our entire beings can be shaped into the image of Christ.
Still, these times can be tough, and at one point in my life I would ask God to deliver me from frustrating seasons. Now I no longer pray that prayer. Instead, I ask God to do His perfect work, to work fully in me, because I know that this season, however hard, he is doing something.
Some seasons are short, and some are long. Some are stressful, and others are joyful. Some are exciting, and others are more mundane. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says,
1 There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to give birth and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to uproot;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to tear down and a time to build;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;
6 a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to be silent and a time to speak;
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
God's Sovereignty
In these verses, the preacher of Ecclesiastes (likely Solomon) uses a rhetorical literary device called merismus. This involves expressing a whole by mentioning its parts and typically uses contrasting or complementary elements to signify a broader concept.
Biblical commentator Iain Provan writes, “The first pair of opposites is the most all-embracing as far as human life is concerned, and it connects chapter 3 especially with the closing part of chapter 2.” Provan continues by pointing out that
Aside from the placement of this first pair, however, there is no discernible purpose to the overall order in which the opposites are placed; they simply represent various aspects of human life between the two poles of birth and death, although they are often clustered together in groups in suggestive ways.[1]
Using these fourteen contrasting activities, the author offers a descriptive idea “of what actually happens under heaven.”[2]
Life isn’t all the same. One day might look completely different from the one before. Michael Eaton adds, “The function of this section is to call us to a view of God’s sovereignty which both reassures and yet sobers the reader. It reassures because of God’s control; yet it sobers because God’s control remains mysterious.”[3]
Commit Every Season to God
Because we go through many spiritual seasons, daily disciplines like journaling are so important. When you consistently write down your experiences and emotions, you start to notice patterns in these seasons.
For example, you might notice (like me) you are more prone to depression and anxiety during the winter months, reinvigorated in the spring, relaxed in the summer, and eager to tackle new projects in the fall.
Knowing there will be times you love, times you dislike, and times that are mundane helps you understand how to live. You might switch up your personal worship routines, take on new hobbies, or be more intentional about investing in key relationships at certain times of the year—knowing these are just what this season of life needs.
So make plans today. Set goals. But pay attention to the season you are in and make the most of it, recognizing that God can teach you some things during this time that he might not teach you in others.
Most importantly, commit your days to God. Spend less time trying to figure out all the patterns and rhythms of life and more time simply sitting in God’s presence and trusting his grace to help you through every phase.
[1]Iain Provan, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The NIV Application Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 87.
[2]Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 114.
[3]Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes, eds. D. A Carson et al., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 611.
