Shifting Seasons

 

Scripture

 Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

⁹ What gain have the workers from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. ¹¹ He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; ¹³ moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. ¹⁴ I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it; God has done this so that all should stand in awe before him. ¹⁵ That which is already has been, that which is to be already is, and God seeks out what has gone by.  (NRSVUE)

Devotion

Today is the last official day of summer.  As I look forward to tomorrow's autumnal equinox--when time when more of each 24 hour day is spent in darkness than in light--I find myself myself reflecting on the seasons and cycles of life.  There are times when life seems full of brightness and joy.  Times when there are more shadows and sorrow.  Times when we looking toward the future, times when we find ourselves focused on getting through the present, and times when we think back to the past.  Times of action and times of reflection.  Times when we feel motivated and hopeful as we toil about on our God-given business and times when we feel like we are running on fumes. 

This year's shift from summer to autumn coincides with a particular season of transitions in not just in my congregation but in churches, organizations, and communities around the world.  Everywhere, people are asking tough questions about who God is calling to them to be and how that should inspire what they are doing.  There are shifts in membership, mission, and goals.   And these kinds of transitions can cause folks to ask what the point of it all even is.

When we think of life's shifting seasons, a lot of us end up turning to Ecclesiastes 3:1-18.  While it is wonderful to hum along with the Byrds about there being a time for every purpose under Heaven, I find myself drawn to the next 6 verses of late.  Here, our narrator Qohelet acknowledges that God makes everything suitable for its time before asking what we should do with that knowledge?  How do we make sense of it all when (unlike God)  we cannot see how it all these times, cycles, seasons, and transition fit together from beginning to end?

Qohelet raises a good point that many of us struggle with from time to time.  What do we make of it all when one season ends and another begins?  What do we truly gain from our toil when God calls us to move in a new direction or change the business we have been engaged in on Christ's behalf?  These are tough questions--especially when a transition from season to season is accompanied by pain, loss, or discouragement. 

Qohelet doesn't offer us any easy answers to these kinds of questions.  She does, though, give us a starting point by saying that whatever temporary gains we may or may not receive, we can be assured that they are part of God's plans.  Furthermore, we can be assured that God's plan--whatever it may be--will endure forever. These assurance mean that while we may not understand why certain things happen or certain changes occur as seasons change and time marches on, we can still take joy in doing our part.  We can eat and drink and find pleasure in our toil, knowing that we are taking part in making God's will come to fruition.  And that will is always for our good. 

The rest of Ecclesiastes further unpacks this idea. Many of its passages raise more questions than answers, but the general idea remains the same.  Seasons change.  Time marches on.  Things come and go.  But God's good plans remain eternal.  And we can go about our business find a deep and abiding joy in knowing that God has made our toil a part of those plans.

 So as we move into the fall, let us take pleasure in our toil by being thankful for what has been, staying committed to what we are being called to do in the moment, and looking forward with anticipation to whatever new seasons and opportunities lie ahead. And whatever season may be upon us, let us always remember that it too shall fade away...even as God's eternal will continues to be revealed among us one piece at a time.

 

 

 

Prayer

Ever faithful God, thank you for remaining constantly by our side even as seasons change and our lives go through transitions.  Help me to trust in your eternal plans and take pleasure in doing my part.  May my toil be to your glory and my reward be found in the way you help us grow in our love for you and one another.