In Our Limits, There Is Freedom

By Samantha Rodriguez

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, 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. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.”—Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 (NIV)

Though in Florida seasons may seem like a hoax, if you’ve ever lived or visited a place where the four seasons actually exist, you know that their coming and going is intertwined with the time of the year. The same goes for the cycle of plants and trees—what we often call “the circle of life.” Even throughout history, every empire, dynasty, or nation rises and falls. People build, people tear down, and then people rebuild.

Why is so much in our lives dependent on seasons and timing? Because time was created by God. At the end of the day (no pun intended), we can’t change or manipulate time. We live in time, and how we fill that time matters! Are we filling it with selfish and earthly pursuits or with heavenly and holy ones? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has set eternity in the human heart. When Jesus defines eternity in a prayer, he says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3 NIV, emphasis added). What your heart truly longs for is to know God through Jesus and to be known by Him. The best way to fill your time is to pursue an intimate relationship with God and allow Him to overflow into your other relationships, responsibilities, and opportunities. Jesus is the only way to access a truly abundant life (John 10:10[1]).

Think about the similarities between a journey and a piece of art. Both involve long processes of becoming. Our lives are like both of those things.

We’re on a journey in this life that will either end in eternal separation from God or eternal communion with God. Along the way, if we choose to follow and receive salvation from Jesus, He’ll bring joy and purpose to the journey. He’s given us access to live in sacred communion with Him again, just like in the garden.

We’re also a piece of art in God’s hands. He’s molding and shaping us to be more of who He always meant us to be. Everything we do with Jesus restores our original identity from long before sin corrupted mankind, bringing purpose and holiness to what seems like a mundane life.

The best promise in this chapter is that God makes everything beautiful in its time, including our stories and our characters. Everything God does endures forever. If we allow Him to be our navigator, our artist, our best friend, and our Lord, then He’ll follow through on these promises with our lives, too.

Pause: What season of life are you in right now? How might God be inviting you to trust His timing instead of trying to control it?

Practice: Take a few minutes today to honestly name your current season before God, whether it’s a time of waiting, building, grieving, or growing. Then choose one small way to surrender it to the Lord. Express it in your prayers and share it with a trusted friend.

Pray: Father God, thank You for making everything beautiful in its time, including me and my life story! I’m grateful for the reminder that You give me a time for everything. Show me how to accept and embrace the season You have me in right now with grace, peace, trust, and hope. I love You, Lord. Amen.