The Byrds Ain't Got Nothin' On Jesus

About three months ago God laid on my heart the desire to do something to reach out to people my age. At first I had no idea what He had in store for me, but I was excited to be used to bring Him glory. So I kept it between me and God and prayed about for a solid two months. After that I threw it out in normal conversation with some acquaintances, and we planned on inviting high school kids for a bible study the upcoming Friday. Let me tell you, God has really shown Himself to be true by carrying out His will for me in this period of life. Just this small study has impacted me greatly, and was a definite answer to my prayers. He knew exactly what we should read from, and showed us exactly what to apply to our lives. He's expanded my view of His beauty and truth. So, for the past three weeks, we've been indulging ourselves in the very awesome book of Ecclesiastes. And from the three weeks of studying it, God has without a doubt spoken to us all. Last week we focused on Ecclesiastes 3, and here's a little overview of what we read:

Verses 1-8 show us how there is a time for everything. Every action, every emotion. But it's not just timing that makes this an important passage. It's GOD's timing that makes it important. God has a time and place for everything, and His time is perfect. (I hope whoever has heard Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds knows that the majority of the lyrics derived from these eight verses in Ecclesiastes :)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"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;

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."

Verses 10-13 start with Solomon saying God gives His people things to do; occupation. It's how we do the jobs, or tasks, with a good attitude to honor God, not ourselves. The last part in verse 13 tells us to have joy in serving God and to enjoy the things which God's already given us.
My favorite part of the passage is verses 16-17 because it says that even if it seems as if evil is taking over at some points in life, it is so vividly important to remember God's perfect timing. Like I said before, everything God does is in His perfect timing. Timing that I can't even comprehend. I can recall so many instances in my when I felt like the world was suffocating me and blurring my vision so that I could barely see my Savior, but then, in the blink of an eye, there He is, coming to my rescue. God takes us out from wickedness or suffering at the precise and accurate time. He takes the phrase of, "just in time", to an entire new level. This is an awesome reminder. Sometimes I need to remind myself of God's perfect timing in times where I'm feeling anxious or unsure about my future. I know God has a plan for me, and I know that He'll carry out His plan when the time is right. So basically I have no excuse in the world to be afraid.
The ending of the chapter, (verses 19-22), was a relief in the sense that, no, we're not animals. But, without salvation we may as well just be animals. The only thing that separates us from being animals is that we have souls, and they don't; we have perception of eternal life, and animals don't.

Now that we know for certain that there is eternity set before us, as Christians, I think we need to step back from our busy lives and remember why we're here, who created us, and what we live for. Because it's all going to eventually be the outcome and result of our lives.


-R