“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

In the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes, Solomon chronicles his quest for wealth, wisdom, work, and women, only to discover how empty these things are when God is left out of the picture. This is why he exhorts us twice at the end of the book to “Remember now your Creator” (12:1, 6).

It has been well said that “time stands still for no one.” Another has said that “time marches on.” The only thing we have for certain, when it comes to time, is the present.

In chapter three of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has much to say about time. He goes on to list fourteen pairs of opposites, each having both a positive and a negative aspect:

“A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck 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;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace” (Eccl. 3:2–8).

Solomon mentions the concept of time twenty-eight times in this section, emphasizing that each of us has been allotted a certain amount of time by God, and we are responsible for using it wisely.

The apostle Paul reminds us to “redeem the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16), and that we are to “walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time” (Col. 4:5).

In Romans, Paul further exhorts us:

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:11–14).

Anchor For Today:
The time that you and I have been allotted is quickly coming to an end. The question each of us must ask ourselves is: How are we spending the time we have been given? For ourselves, or for the Lord’s glory?