God of Purpose
"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." (Psalm 33:11 NIV)
If this miniseries on the God of Times and Seasons is a scenic side trip off our main Names of God path, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is our road map.
"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace."
Isn't God an on-purpose God?
Every season God appoints takes us somewhere. And because Yahweh is driven by perfect love and wisdom, faith (even faith the size of a mustard seed) in the goodness of that "somewhere" is never misplaced.
Birth and death.
War and peace.
Scattering and gathering.
Planting and harvesting.
Crying and laughing.
Grieving and dancing.
Over the course of the next three weeks, God-willing, we're going to cast our gaze onto God as He sits in sovereignty over all the give-and-take, starting-and-stopping, beginning-and-ending of our lives. My hope is that we will find ourselves in the specific seasons spelled out in Scripture and that we will be encouraged that our God of Purpose has His right reasons for them...reasons rooted in His heart of love.
For everything, a season.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!