A time to build up again

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. All has come to pass.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, The Preacher (probably Solomon), went on to speak of a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill, a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build up again.

It is one of the greatest portions of scripture: indeed it is one of the greatest pieces of literature. It compares with the 272 word Gettysburg address of Abraham Lincoln, a similarly short, to the point, flowing moment of sublime literature.

I am so comforted by Solomon’s sense of seasons and their closure. Our family has been cast into a long, dry, broken season that has caused us to lose almost all we ever had, but thankfully that too has an end and we sense a time of closure and new beginnings is at hand.

Recently, in a time of crying to God, I asked the LORD for some signal of comfort and hope and by His spirit He led me to Psalm 12, where He says, “because of the oppression of the weak and the groanings of the needy, I will now arise.” The implications relate well to Solomon’s own words, indicating the end of a season and a moment where God draws the line and brings things to a head. Just to cement this concept, look further in Psalm 12 and see how God confirms His heart and the integrity of His words, in saying, “My words are like silver, refined in a furnace and purified seven times”.

Wherever you are in your own journey – take heart, God has not forgotten you and will bring your season to a fitting closure, albeit in His own perfect time.