Proverbs 27:17
Friday, October 16, 2026
Ecclesiastes 3:12-14 - God's Perfect Timing: Understanding Divine Seasons in Life
Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser.
The Berean
Share this on FacebookPinterestView as PDF
Ecclesiastes 3:12-14
(12) I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, (13) and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
(14) I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
New King James Version Change email Bible version
Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” But is the timing right or wrong, bad or good, suitable or unsuitable, ugly or beautiful?
It depends on who chooses the timing. Paul writes in Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” God set the time for this to occur. It was not happenstance; the timing was fitting. Mark 1:15 shows the same principle: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus means that the time God set to preach the gospel had been reached. Matthew 26:18, 27-29 contain similar thoughts: The timing of His crucifixion and even the timing of when Jesus will drink wine again was set. Mark 8:31 reveals that God set the length of time Jesus spent in the grave too.
Acts 1:6-7 adds an important fact:
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.”
God has sovereignly set the times, including appointing the times for our trials too. Are not times set by men for school tests? The proctor says, “You have 40 minutes, then the test is over.”
Understanding this principle helps us to grasp Solomon's conclusions in Ecclesiastes 3:12-14. Some translations contend that the last phrase is best read as “that men should stand in awe before Him.” When will that take place? It will not truly occur until after the resurrection. Of what will we stand in awe? We will truly admire many things about His glory, but after going through these experiences with Him so closely involved in our lives, what will really strike us with mind-numbing awe is what He has been able to create of us.
God's timing is always good, right, and appropriate. It is up to us to use our faith in Him to remain in a good attitude, using the time that He has set for us to grow, overcome, and meet the responsibilities our trials impose. We deal with nothing as continuously as time. Every day, from the moment we wake up until we go back to sleep, we are watching time, setting times, meeting schedules, calculating how much time we have, etc. This highlights that everything matters because we have only so much time.
While our time is limited, we can live in faith and hope because of the overall message of this magnificent chapter: God is in control of time all the time.
— John W. Ritenbaugh
To learn more, see:
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Three): Time
Topics:
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living
God is in Control of Time All the Time
God Set the Times
God's Sovereignty Over Time
God's Timetable
God's Timing
God's Timing is Always Appropriate
Tests and Trials
Time
Time for Every Purpose
Commentary copyright © 1992-2026 Church of the Great God
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Spotify
Subscription Information
This daily newsletter was sent to you at pahovis@aol.com because you subscribed at www.bibletools.org on Jan 30, 2011.
Email Preferences | Unsubscribe
Church of the Great God
P.O. Box 471846
Charlotte, NC 28247
803-802-7075
About The Berean | Archives | Random Berean | Subscriptions
This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch Friday Night Prayers - Lectio 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch Friday Night Prayers - Lectio 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
What is Your Heart Attached To?
What is Your Heart Attached To?
Where is your phone right now? It’s likely right next to you or in your hand, right?
Are there even still moments when you go somewhere without your phone? Honestly, not for me.
But one morning—thank God, I have to say—I hadn’t charged my phone overnight, and I had to leave early to take my car to the shop. The appointment was supposed to be really quick, so I didn’t think anything of it.
But “really quick” turned into quite a long time. And what do we automatically do when we have to wait somewhere?
We reach for our phones, right? Except I couldn’t do that this time.
But then, I remembered I had a Bible in the glove compartment—I highly recommend this to everyone! So I sat down outside the shop with that Bible in my hands while nothing could distract me.
Or rather, the lives of other people couldn’t distract me. Because, isn’t that what happens? We often look at our phones and experience other people’s lives while missing out on our own…
Maybe you follow me on social media, which makes me very happy. But what if God wants to speak to YOU right now while you’re busy listening to what He has said to someone else?
That morning, I read how David came to the same realization in Psalm 73:
“But as for me, it is good to be near God…” (Psalm 73:28, NIV)
Sometimes we’re not just distracted; we’re distracted AWAY from what God wants to say to us personally.
And that morning, He actually had so many good things to say to me. If I had had my phone with me, I definitely would have missed them.
You don’t miss anything when you forget your phone.
But you miss everything when you forget God.
Let’s pray about that today: Lord, if my heart is attached to things it shouldn’t be attached to, please show me. I want to let You change me. Amen.
You are a miracle!
Déborah Rosenkranz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)