Daily Fountain Devotional 19 September 2020 for Anglican Communion
TOPIC: Your Times Are In The Hands of The Lord
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15(NKJV)
1. To everything [there is] a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2. A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck [what is] planted;
3. A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4. A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5. A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6. A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
7. A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
8. A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
9. What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10. I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
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.
15. That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
STUDY: Solomon continues to beautifully present the essence of the life of a natural human being, in contrast to a believer in the Lord. In chapters one and two, He had presented arguments proving that life without the presence of God was nothing but unprofitable, boring and meaningless chasing after the wind. But he, beginning from Ecclesiastes 3, started examining factors that must be considered before one can say that life is meaningful and purposeful. He saw something above humans- a God who controls time and balances life’s experiences (vs. 1-8). Then he saw something within them that link them to God – eternity in his heart (vs. 9-11).
So the preacher is really saying ‘Look up and look within,’ then you will discover that your life is not meaningless. But today we shall examine only one of the two – ‘Look up.’ There is a purpose for your life. Your belief that there is a loving God, Who had taken steps to be your Father through the work of redemption on the cross of Jesus Christ, assures you that your existence is not in vain. Whatever you are going through, God loves you. He demonstrates that He loves you by Christ dying for you when you were yet sinning (Rom. 5:8). Understand this love, and then you shall find meaning for your life. In fourteen statements, Solomon affirmed that God is at work in our individual lives, seeking to accomplish His will through all circumstances of life, using the twenty-eight as examples (vs. 2-8). Will you allow Him to order the circumstances of your life? Will you allow Him to order your time for you? He promised Abraham three times – ‘this time next year’ (Gen 17:21); ‘according to the time of life’ (Gen 18:10); ‘at the appointed time’ (Gen 18:14); and He fulfilled His promise ‘at the set time…’ (Gen 21: 2). Your times are in the hands of the Lord; He will beautify them at the set time. Please pray with this Hymn.
PRAYER: My times are in Thy hand,
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave
Entirely to Thy care. Amen
Daily Fountain Devotional 19 September 2020 – The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as “over 18 million”, out of a total Nigerian population of over 200 million.