Seasons of Life
Ecclesiastes 3:1–15
Good morning everyone. I’m so glad to see all of you here today. As we begin this morning, I want to share with you some powerful words of wisdom from Solomon, the great King of Israel. In the book of Ecclesiastes, he writes:
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
I am grateful that we serve a God who reigns over the seasons of our lives.
This truth is woven into creation itself. God established the four seasons through the rotation of the earth as it orbits the sun. As the earth moves, the seasons change. Yet the sun remains constant. It does not shift. It does not waver. It does not adjust to the earth. And yet everything on this planet depends upon its steady presence and power.
In much the same way, our lives were designed to revolve around the Son, Jesus Christ.
And here is the good news: though we will face change, though our lives will move in and out of seasons, the Son remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. His constancy anchors us when everything else feels unsettled.
Change happens constantly. Nothing remains the same.
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist George Will once observed,
“The future has a way of arriving unannounced.”
An ancient Greek philosopher named Heraclitus once said,
“You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing.”
That captures life well. Circumstances shift. Opportunities change. Seasons move forward whether we are ready or not. And as Solomon reminds us, in the economy of God, there is a time and a season for everything.
A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build
I recently ran across a book by historian Bruce Kuklick. Some of you baseball fans may appreciate this.
He wrote about Shibe Park in Philadelphia. For more than sixty years it was home to Philadelphia’s baseball teams. But by the late 1960s, the neighborhood had declined and the stadium, renamed Connie Mack Stadium, had become worn down and neglected.
When the Phillies played their final game there in 1970, fans began tearing pieces of the stadium apart. Even during the game, the sound of hammering and sawing echoed through the stands as people tried to pry loose souvenirs. Newspapers later wrote that instead of dying with dignity, the stadium ended its life “shrieking in pain” as it was dismantled.
A fire damaged what remained the following year. Eventually the property sat covered in weeds. Finally, in 1976, the mayor ordered its demolition. It was simply time to tear it down. But that was not the end of the story.
In 1981, Deliverance Evangelistic Church purchased the property with a vision to serve the city. They built homes for the elderly. They established Christian education ministries. They constructed a sanctuary for worship.
A time to tear down.
A time to build up.
It seems Solomon was right. In the economy of God, there is a season for both.
While there may be a season to play baseball, there is also a season to advance the ministry of the church. Everything unfolds in its God appointed time.
The Wisdom of Ecclesiastes
If you know anything about Ecclesiastes, you know it contains some striking observations about life. Much of it sounds sober. Some of it feels unsettling. Solomon wrestles with the futility of life lived without eternal perspective. He critiques the secularization of his culture, something I think we can certainly identify with today. Yet in the middle of this book (this book that sometimes feels emotionally overwhelming), hope breaks through. This happens in Chapter 3.
Chapter 3 begins not with despair, but with poetry.
“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (NKJV)
This passage is not cynical. It is deeply theological.
Notice Solomon does not say everything happens “under the sun,” a phrase he often uses elsewhere. Here he says everything happens “under heaven.”
That distinction matters. Because, he’s reminding us that every season, every time, every purpose unfolds beneath the authority of the God of heaven!
Later, in Ecclesiastes 5:2, he writes,
“God is in heaven, and you are on earth.” — Ecclesiastes 5:2 (NKJV)
Everything that happens in this time bound universe happens under the rule of the God who reigns in heaven.
God governs the minutes and the moments. He rules the years and the eras. Nothing in time escapes His authority.
Chronos and Kairos
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, two words are used for time, chronos and kairos.
- Chronos refers to measurable time. Minutes. Hours. Days. The ticking of the clock.
- Kairos refers to time in another way. Not so much a measurement of duration, but rather one of opportunity. Not just passing time, but appointed time.
And that’s the word that Solomon uses here. He’s telling us that every season carries divine purpose. There is a divinely appointed opportunity for every matter under heaven.
Even when life feels unstable, God has not lost control of the calendar.
So, How Do We Face the Seasons of Life?
Well, let me leave you with three guiding truths.
- Trust in God’s Sovereignty
When we speak of God’s sovereignty, we are speaking of His supreme authority. Nothing lies outside His rule. He is not merely influential in history. He governs it.
Psalm 103 reminds us,
“The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.” — Psalm 103:19 (NKJV)
Not some things. Not most things. All.
Isaiah strengthens it further:
“I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning…Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.’” — Isaiah 46:9–10 (NKJV)
God does not discover the future. He declares it.
Consider Job.
Some mistakenly read Job’s story as though God were powerless against Satan. But Scripture makes it clear that Satan had to ask permission. He could not act without divine allowance. Nothing happened outside God’s awareness or authority.
That does not make suffering easy. It does not remove mystery. But it does remove randomness.
Paul affirms this same confidence:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” — Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
“All things” includes the seasons we celebrate and the seasons we endure.
The Westminster Catechism summarizes it well:
“His holy, wise and powerful providence governs all His creatures, and all their actions.”
Nothing surprises God. Nothing catches heaven off guard. Even in your most confusing season, God remains sovereign.
His sovereignty does not eliminate pain, but it anchors purpose.
2. Wait on God’s Timing
If God rules over time, then His timing can be trusted.
David understood this deeply. Anointed king while still a shepherd boy, he waited years before sitting on the throne. Between promise and fulfillment came giants, caves, betrayal, warfare, and long seasons of transition. Yet in the middle of his uncertainty, David wrote:
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord…My times are in Your hand.” — Psalm 31:14–15 (NKJV)
He placed his seasons in God’s hand.
Waiting on God’s timing is not passive resignation. It is active trust. It is confidence that the One who governs time also governs fulfillment.
Psalm 27 reinforces this:
“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” — Psalm 27:14 (NKJV)
Isaiah gives us the promise attached to waiting:
“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles…” — Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
And in the New Testament we are reminded that even the coming of Christ happened according to divine timing:
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…” — Galatians 4:4 (NKJV)
God is never rushed. He is never delayed. He moves in fullness.
There are seasons between what was and what will be. Transition can feel long and uncertain. But waiting on God’s timing shapes patience, deepens faith, and renews strength.
One of the elderly ladies within our ministries (years ago), used to be fond of saying: “God is rarely early, He’s never late, He’s always right on time!”
3. Make Good Use of the Season You Have Been Given
What I’m saying is — don’t waste your season. Your time is your most precious and most valuable commodity in life. So, steward it well. With every other commodity, you use it up — you can earn more. But not so with time. Once it’s gone — it’s gone! So don’t waste it. Steward it. Invest it. Use it wisely for the grand purposes of honoring and glorifying God.
Do not waste your season. Your time is your most precious stewardship. Pastor Stephen Olford called it “a fragment of eternity given by God to man as a solemn stewardship.”
If that’s true, and I believe it is, then we have a responsibility to steward it well. Scripture reinforces this responsibility again and again. As Paul writes:
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” — Ephesians 5:15–16 (NKJV)
To “redeem the time” means to seize the opportunity. It means to recognize that every season carries divine purpose.
James reminds us of life’s brevity:
“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” — James 4:14 (NKJV)
Time is short. Seasons pass. Eternity remains.
Solomon himself says in our text:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts…” — Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)
God has placed eternity within us, yet entrusted us with time to live faithfully now.
There is a time to plant. A time to build. A time to speak. A time to act. There is also a time to release. A time to let go. A time to be silent. A time to end what has run its course. So, discern your season. Honor God in it.
Paul closes 1 Corinthians with this exhortation:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” — 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
That means your present season matters.
When God leads, seize the opportunity He provides. And remember this: one day Christ will return.
Hebrews tells us:
“So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time…” — Hebrews 9:28 (NKJV)
And that appearance will not be accidental. It will be at the appointed time determined by the Father.
Until then, every season matters.
Let me offer you a final application:
Consider the season you are in right now.
- Is it a season of beginning or ending?
- Growth or pruning?
- Celebration or endurance?
Instead of resisting your season, ask what God is shaping in you through it.
Instead of fearing change, anchor your life more deeply to the unchanging Christ.
Instead of clinging to what is closing, prepare your heart for what God may be opening.
And as you do, trust God’s sovereignty.
Rest in His timing. And…
Redeem the opportunity His given you.
Because to everything there is a season, and every season unfolds under heaven.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are Lord over every season of our lives. You are sovereign over beginnings and endings, over joy and sorrow, over planting and uprooting. So, when our lives shift, remind us that You do not shift. And when our seasons change, steady our hearts in Your constancy. And when we grow impatient, teach us to wait. And when we grow fearful, deepen our trust. Help us to always discern the season we are in and to honor You within it. Guard us from wasting the opportunities You have placed before us. Anchor us firmly to Jesus, the unchanging Son. And as we move through the changing seasons of this life, prepare us for the eternal season to come. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.