Your Story, by God: An Ecclesiastes 3 Devotion
Ecclesiastes 3:1–14
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to be keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
If you talk with someone who’s reading the same book as you, or one that you already have, you might ask, “What chapter are you on?” Perhaps you ask because you’re curious to know where they are in the story. Are they in the middle of your favorite part? Are they close to the end?
What if you were to compartmentalize your life thus far into chapters?
Childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, perhaps marriage or perhaps singleness, “empty nesting,” retirement—these are all possible chapters or seasons of life. Can you see where one ended and another one began? Perhaps you’re currently in the middle of a chapter or season and have no idea how—or if—it will end.
Near the end of King Solomon’s reign (approx. 930BC), in all his God-given wisdom, he reflects back on the many chapters he has lived. And he is coming to an all-too-familiar conclusion, one that many of our elders are coming to in the later chapters of their stories: things change from one chapter to another. And I don’t mean just the geography, the physical elements of that chapter, or the people in your current story. I’m referring to the priorities you focus on in each chapter.
And any good author (and God is the best) knows that each chapter has a purpose for the next—there is foreshadowing, there is training (certain lessons are harder than others), there is respite, and there is blessing. Each chapter leading us, by the Author’s pen, into the next chapter, unveiling the story that only a loving, holy God could formulate.
“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4
And the Author (God) determines the kind of story, the length of the story, and He also determines the end of the story. This is hard for us because we think we would like to take a run at writing our own chapters, or at least consulting on the story. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we know that a holy and perfect God does a much better job than we ever could.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
No matter where you perceive you are in your story, the Author is with you.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
God has the close of the story in mind, and it is also what Solomon came to learn—that his story, your story does not end.
“I know that everything God does will endure forever.” Ecclesiastes 3:14
Each previous chapter points and prepares you for the next. And every chapter is meant to point and prepare you for the chapter that does not end—eternity with the Author. Here’s why:
“For God SO loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (emphasis added)
So the question is this: How is God working in you in your current chapter of life?
Meet Pastor Eric
Born and raised in Midland, Michigan, Pastor Eric Gledhill attended Concordia College in Ann Arbor, where he trained to be a high school teacher. After teaching and coaching for many years, he began serving youth full-time at Messiah (Midland, MI) and Our Savior (Lansing, MI). He entered the Seminary in St. Louis in 2005. He has served as an Associate Pastor at Webster Gardens in Webster Groves, Missouri, and Trinity in Paw Paw, Michigan. He currently serves at Faith Lutheran Church in Jefferson City, Missouri.
