Praise the Lord! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week and we enjoyed the love and compassion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to fullest measure. As the Christmas season is underway, most people across the world [both Christians as well as non-Christians] are in a mood of festivities and celebrations. As Christians [most of them] celebrate Christmas year after year to commemorate the birth of Christ here on earth (the incarnation of Christ), its effects one-way-or-other affect almost everyone in the world. And so, the wave of Christmas festivities and joyfulness spreads across religious, political, social, cultural, and ethnic borders.  People will be joyfully sharing Christmas greetings and wishes and goodies and gifts among their family and friends and well-wishers in order to make the season more meaningful and delightful. As faithful followers of Christ Jesus, let us make use of all available opportunities to spread the fragrance of God’s love among our family and friends and well-wishers and spread the message of the gospel of salvation through Christ to everyone around us.

The Lord has blessed us with a meaningful and thought-provoking Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week which is taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 (part of the passage is mentioned above). The book of Ecclesiastes is part of the Poetry and Wisdom Literature in the Bible. Most Bible scholars, historians, theologians, and several other groups believe that the book is written by king Solomon as God blessed him with wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore (1 Kings 4:29-34; Ecclesiastes 1:1, 12, 16; 2:4-9; 12:9). The book is designed to explain to its readers that the true purpose of one’s life is to live a life that is according to God’s will and purpose and obey His commandments in its entirety, which will help one to understand who God is and what God’s plan and purpose regarding one’s life on earth is. It is also clear from the book that one’s life on earth without God is meaningless and futile. But those who fear God and obey His righteous laws and decrees and commandments will have abundant blessings here on earth and will inherit an everlasting life with Him in eternity.

The Scripture states that there is a set time for everything in this universe, as it is mentioned: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We can understand from this passage that everything under the heavens functions under the time set for its functions and the pattern designed for its functions. According to the biblical narratives, in the beginning, the Lord God created the universe, including the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-2:3). Everything God created in this universe, He created for a purpose, as we can understand from Paul’s writings to the Colossians: For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him (Colossians :16; also refer to Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 43:7). Paul continued to emphasize similar concepts as he was writing to the believers in the Ephesian churches that For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). This concept is not only applicable to human beings but also the other creations of God. This indicates that each of God’s creations functions exactly according to the pattern the Lord God who created them set up based on their purpose. For instance, the sun and moon run their courses everyday faithfully since their creation. The sun and moon rise at its set time and sets at its set time (Psalm 104:19). The seasons – summer and winter and spring and autumn come and go at their set time. Prophet Jeremiah stated that Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration … (Jeremiah 8:7a). The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes puts it up briefly for our understanding that everything in this universe functions at its set time frame, as we read through Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 …

• • There is a time for everything (3:1a)
  • There is a season for every activity under the heavens (3:1b)
  • There is a time to be born (3:2a)
  • There is a time to die (3:2b)
  • There is a time to plant (3:2c)
  • There is a time to uproot (3:2d)
  • There is a time to kill (3:3a)
  • There is a time to heal (3:3b)
  • There is a time to tear down (3:3c)
  • There is a time to build (3:3d)
  • There is a time to weep (3:4a)
  • There is a time to laugh (3:4b)
  • There is a time to mourn (3:4c)
  • There is a time to dance (3:4d)
  • There is a time to scatter stones (3:5a)
  • There is a time to gather them (3:5b)
  • There is a time to embrace (3:5c)
  • There is a time to refrain from embracing (3:5d)
  • There is a time to search (3:6a)
  • There is a time to give up (3:6b)
  • There is a time to keep (3:6c)
  • There is a time to throw away (3:6d)
  • There is a time to tear (3:7a)
  • There is a time to mend (3:7b)
  • There is a time to be silent (3:7c)
  • There is a time to speak (3:7d)
  • There is a time to love (3:8a)
  • There is a time to hate (3:8b)
  • There is a time for war (3:8c)
  • There is a time for peace (3:8d)

As we have discussed above, we can understand that the Lord has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11) – the heavens, the earth, the sun and moon and stars; the living and nonliving things including the animals; the creation of the human beings in the image and likeness of God as the crown of His creation, and so on (Genesis 1:1-2:3). As we can notice everything in this universe that is not under the control of human beings functions exactly the way God designed them for its purposes and functions its appointed timeframe, including everything regarding human beings. God set an appointed time for a person to be born and a set time for his/her death; and where they should live and how they should live in this world; and so on, as Apostle Paul stated: From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands (Acts 17:26). Let us examine the life-style and life-experiences of a few people from the Scripture for our information and encouragement:

• When Abraham and Sarah remained a long time without having a child of their own, God promised them that He will bless them with a son (Genesis 15:2-5; 18:9-10). Yet, it took about twenty-five years to see the fulfillment of the birth of their son Isaac [there is a time/season for every activity under the heaven] (Genesis 21:1-5).
• If we examine the life of Joseph son of Jacob [Israel], we can understand the struggle he went through until the fulfillment of the dreams the Lord God gave him that his brothers sheaves stood around his sheaf and bowing down to it and, again, the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him (Genesis 37:5-11). He received the dreams from the Lord when he was seventeen years of age (Genesis 37:2) and the first sign of fulfillment happened at the age of thirty when king Pharaoh appointed him as the ruler of Egypt (Genesis 41:41-46). Still, it took few more years for his brothers to come and bow before him as it was shown in the dreams (Genesis 42:1-6). The time-period between the dreams he had and its fulfillment was filled with lots of sufferings and uncertainties for him, which means, he went through a lot physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental painful situations in his life: for instance,

• • • Joseph was hated and mistreated by his brothers (Genesis 37:4-5)
    • he was physically attacked by his own brothers and was thrown in to a well (Genesis 37:17b-24)
    • he was sold to the Ishmaelites traders [the Midianite merchants] by his own brothers (Genesis 37:25-30)
    • his father was informed by his brothers that Joseph is dead, they said that a ferocious animal had devoured him (Genesis 37:31-35)
    • He was sold again to Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, by the Ishmaelites/Midianite merchants (Genesis 37:36; 39:1);
    • he was mistreated by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:6-18)
    • he was put in the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined by his master Potiphar for a crime he did not commit (Genesis 39:19-20).

While Joseph was going through all such struggles and unpleasant experiences in his life, the Lord, the God of his fathers, who gave him hopeful dreams neither left him alone nor forsook him entirely (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23). In fact, the Lord was working through all such unpleasant situations and people that He could bring him victoriously to the right place at the right time with a right position in the world (Genesis 41:38-46; 45:13; Psalm 105:17-19). In fact, the Lord was working through several people [good and bad] to bring him to the right place at the right time to elevate him to the right position where everyone will respect and honor him: for instance,

• • • God caused his oldest brother Ruben to be considerate to him (Genesis 37:21, 29-30)
    • God caused his another brother Judah to be kind to him (Genesis 37:26-27)
    • God caused the Ishmaelites/Midianite merchants to be kind to him that they neither throw him away on the way or kill him on the way to Egypt (Genesis 37:25-28)
    • God caused the Ishmaelites/Midianite merchants to sell him to Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard (Genesis 37:36)
    • God caused Potiphar to be nice and kind to him and treat him well (Genesis 39:2-6)
    • God caused Potiphar to put Joseph in prison instead of killing him, as Potiphar, being an Egyptian and Pharaoh’s official [the captain of Pharaoh’s guard] has the power and authority to kill a foreign-slave who was accused of doing wrong (Genesis 39:19-20)
    • God caused the prison warden to be kind to him (Genesis 39:21-23)
    • God caused Pharaoh to have dreams at night regarding the famine that is about to happen in Egypt and across the world (Genesis 41:1-8)
    • God caused the minds of the magicians and wise men of Egypt to be dull and inactive in order to hide the meaning or interpretation of the dreams Pharaoh had (Genesis 41:8)
    • God caused Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer who was in the prison with him as a prisoner was nice to him to tell about him to Pharaoh when God’s appointed time came (Genesis 41:9-13)
    • God caused Pharaoh the king of Egypt to release him from prison and make him the ruler of Egypt and be happy with him (Genesis 41:9-16, 38-46; Psalm 105:16-22); and so on.

If we link all the unpleasant situations and struggles Joseph went through one-by-one, we can understand that all those situations [good and bad] worked in sequence one after the other to bring him into the prison [a place where the impact of one’s troubles and trials would reach its peak] where the king’s prisoners were confined, which is the only way for him (him being a young slave in Egypt, a prisoner, a foreigner, a Hebrew, a shepherd [as the shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians /Genesis 37:2; 46:33-34], and so on) to connect with Pharaoh the ruler of Egypt (Genesis 41:9-14; Psalm 105:20-22) who not only set him free from all the accusations he had been facing in life but ultimately made him the ruler of Egypt (Genesis 41:38-46; 45:8, 13). This is what exactly Apostle meant when he was writing to the believers in Rome that We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). With the help of God and the wisdom the Lord imparted to him, Joseph was able to take care of his official responsibilities diligently and provide grain to the entire population [both the Egyptians and non-Egyptians] who came to him for grain from across the world (Genesis 41:53-57). Joseph’s brothers also came down to Egypt to get grain for their’s and their household’s survival where they bowed down to Joseph as it was shown in his dreams many, many years ago while he was just seventeen years of age (Genesis 42:1-6; 45:13). Eventually, Joseph was able to bring his father Jacob/Israel and his entire household to Egypt (Genesis 46:1-34) and he reconciled himself with his brothers who did a great deal of harm to him and tried to kill him (Genesis 37:4, 8, 18-30), as he said to his brothers: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20) and he assured them his support and provisions for them and their families (Genesis 50:21). Thus, Joseph fulfilled the purpose of God in his life by being an instrument in the hands of God who enabled him to save a large number of population across the world from the famine that hit the world.

If Joseph did not go through any of such life-threatening situations in his life, he would have stayed back at home as his father’s favorite child, that’s all – but he would not have become who he ought to become. We can understand that Joseph wholeheartedly followed his God, the God of his fathers, and remained within the will of God. He also acted wisely with an integrity of heart in order to fulfill God’s purpose in His life. The various life-situations he went through in life made him capable doing things in God’s way. Therefore, God blessed him to become one of the most powerful and influential rulers in Egypt. God also blessed his children, especially Ephraim, that the nation of Israel came to be known as Ephraim, as prophet Isaiah mentioned: The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim [i.e. Israel] broke away from Judah (Isaiah 7:9). In the later part of the biblical history of the nation of Israel, the title Israel and Ephraim are interchangeably used to represent the northern kingdom of Israel (refer to Isaiah 7:2, 5-6, 17; Jeremiah 31:6-9, 18, 20; Hosea 7:1, 8, 11; 9:3; 10:11; 11:8-9; 12:1, 14; 13:1, 12).

• It took about eighty years for Moses [forty years in Pharaoh’s palace as a prince and forty years in the pasture lands / wilderness as a shepherd] to be trained as the leader God wants him to be to deliver and lead Israel for forty years, yet he did not enter the promised land but his children did.
• The children of Israel wandered for forty years in the wilderness before they entered and occupied the promised land, yet none of those who started from Egypt, including Moses, Aaron and Miriam who led them, occupied the promised land except Caleb and Joshua.
• It took several years and a great deal of loss and struggles for Naomi before she saw the rays of hope in her life through her Moabitess daughter-in-law Ruth and her kinsman-redeemer Boaz in whose family line Jesus came into this world [Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David,…, Jesus] (Ruth 1:1-4:22).
• David was anointed as the second king of Israel [successor to king Saul] as a teenager but he had to wait a long-time and go through a lot of life-threatening hardships and troubles in life before he began to reign over his people Israel at the age of thirty. 
• Jesus also faced similar situations during His earthly life-time. In the fullness of time, God sent His One and only Son to this world, as it is mentioned: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Even though, Christ’s coming to this earth was announced right at the beginning of the creation of human beings(Genesis 3:15) and kept on being announced to remind the people time to time regarding His coming (Genesis 12:2-3; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 42:1; 61:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 5:2-3; Zechariah 9:9; Acts 3:22; 7:37), Jesus came to this world only when God’s time had fully come, as Apostle Paul stated:

When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship (Galatians 4:4-5).

Jesus, being the Son of God and Creator of the universe [the heavens and earth and everything in them including human beings], also went through much excruciating pain [internally and externally] during His lifetime on earth before He was glorified by the Father in heaven. Socially – in his own house as well as in the community [many did not believe Him that He is the son of God – the savior of the mankind, including His own brothers]; religiously/spiritually – most of the religious leaders and common people did not accept Him as the Son of God or savior of mankind; politically – the Roman administration did not support Him rather they crucified Him upon the Jews’ [His own people] demand; culturally – he was rejected by the world-heritage-system; physically – He was rejected, mocked, slapped on the face, brutally beaten up with the whips fitted with iron pieces, crown of thorns pressed down into his head, and nailed to the cross until he was dead.

• The apostles of Jesus Christ also went through a great deal of sufferings in their lives – apart from Apostle John, all other apostles of Jesus Christ, including Apostle Paul, were tortured and martyred for the cause of the Gospel of Christ. Apart from the apostles and other disciples of Christ, untold number of faithful followers in the past and present also went through tough times in life for the cause of the Gospel of Christ, as it is mentioned … 

There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground (Hebrews 11:35-38)

Though they were all commended for their faith, most of them did not see good days during their earthly life time, as it is mentioned: These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:39-40).

What we can learn from the above-mentioned individuals and many others who went through similar situations in life is that the trials and troubles we face in life is nothing compared to the glory awaits for us and our descendants in life. In most cases, we ourselves will see the blessings in our lifetime itself but in some cases it will be rewarded to our children after us and to their children after them, which will continue to be for generations after generations. We are so privileged and honored that we are chosen to be called as His children. Though, we do not deserve to be chosen/called to be the sons and daughters of God, He, in His mercy, adopted us as His children and, thus, we are called the sons and daughters of God (1 John 3:1).

Dear friends in the Lord, as we conclude our SftW meditation this week, let us know the fact that God does everything in the right time, which is according to God’s set time, as it is mentioned: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and The Lord has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11a). Most of the time, we don’t really understand God’s timings in our life. Sometimes, people are in haste in doing things or they want certain things to happen right away in their lives the way they think or plan. Just pause for a moment and think, many a time, we ourselves faced some challenging and difficult situations in our lif [or some of us might be going through some difficult life-situations currently]. In such situations, the normal human tendency is that they get upset with God and others for no reason and behave differently towards others or blame others or act so weirdly towards others just because the things didn’t work the way they thought or planned at that particular time. However, if they think about it after a time-period, they will definitely feel ashamed and will understand how foolish they were during those days to think such a way they thought at that time or behaved differently towards others because the things didn’t work the way they thought or planned. We need to be considerate and mindful about God’s faithfulness in our life in the past and in the yesterdays and right now [the present-time]. Keep in mind that we are neither forbidden nor forsaken by God, though some of the blessings might get little bit delayed as God’s time for us is not yet come, as it is mentioned: For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery (Ecclesiastes 8:6). In such situations,

• • we need to take heart that God is still for us
  • continue to pray to Him
  • act confidently and courageously before God and others
  • wait patiently

Prophet Habakkuk encouraged God’s people, saying: The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay (Habakkuk 2:3). God is good and He is faithful! He will do the best for everyone who calls upon His name at the right time and at right place as we are created and sustained and saved by God for a purpose. Therefore, let us …

• • … draw closer to the throne of Grace
  • … stay close to Him in all circumstances
  • … hold fast unto Him
  • … abide in Him at all times
  • … do the things He wants us to do
  • … have the things He wants us to have
  • … be at the place where He wants us to be
  • … live a life that is worthy our calling
  • … fulfill His plan and purpose in and through our lives.

May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!