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  30th January 2025

ThursdayReflection

************************

"Pamela Palmer"

   writer, speaker, and the founder of
   upheldlife.com


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"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven"

.... Ecclesiastes 3:1


Part of God's great design to this earth is seasons.

We experience wet and dry seasons, the typical four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall, and there are planting seasons and harvesting seasons.

So, too, we find in the Bible that our lives go through seasons.
Seasons of sadness, loss, joy, newness, and growth.

All of these life seasons are intentional and God's influence in them should be acknowledged and counted on.

We find this often quoted verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, which is believed to have been written by Solomon, the son of King David.

When Scripture declares that for everything there is a season, this means that the various circumstances we go through in life are not by incident, but orchestrated or allowed by God with great purpose and intentionality.

If you are in a certain season of life, you can be confident the season will come to an end at some point.
This verse serves as a reminder that our circumstances will change and that is something we can come to expect in life.
Whatever God takes us through has purpose, perhaps to deepen our faith or to help us achieve breakthrough in an area of life.

We will get over our sorrows. We will get out of the valley. We will go through hardships.
And whatever season of life we find ourselves in, it will have a beginning and it will have an end.
We will enter new seasons, too. Ones that bring relief, hope, or a deeper sense of faith.

As you read Ecclesiastes, you may get the impression that Solomon had somewhat of a grave outlook on life.
The book begins with Solomon's declaration that everything is meaningless (see verse 1:1).
He had seen the ups and downs of life, yet could not quite make sense of life.
Why was there so much suffering?
Where was God in the midst of life?
What is the meaning of the mundane days we live?

In this book, Solomon reflected on his understanding of God and how that fits with what he knew and the life he was experiencing.
Perhaps you have found yourself wondering or reflecting like Solomon did.

In the third chapter, we find perhaps some clarity around the mysteries of life.
When nothing seems to make sense, if we find God's presence in life, that's when real meaning and satisfaction will emerge.

Life without God is hopeless, but a life lived for God and in acknowledgement of his divine presence is one marked by fruitfulness and significance.

The reality is that life gets hard.
As we know, bad things happen even to those who follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Sinful nature has left nothing untouched, and this is why we await the second coming of Jesus.
But until then, we know that we will go through tough seasons just as much as we go through joyful seasons.

Even Jesus reminded us that we will always have troubles, but we can still have peace in him.
The hope found in this Ecclesiastical passage is that these seasons of suffering, hate, and death will end.
God will bring us through to better days marked by comfort, love, and new life.

Through it all, we can rest in the peace Jesus has given us.
Regardless of what we face, God remains in control and is the author of our days.



   ><(((°>




This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request




"Pamela Palmer"
is a writer, speaker, and the founder of upheldlife.com
the platform on which she produces devotionals and faith resources to inspire keeping faith at the centre of life.
She is in pastoral ministry and gets to share in the emotional and spiritual lives of others.
She lives and thrives on Jesus, coffee, and music.
She is the author of Living a Deeper Faith: Nurture Your Relationship with God and Live a Faith-Fueled Life.



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