by Zina Leone

Created on: September 17, 2009

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

With the way things are going in the world, sometimes it's hard to think of things as ever getting any better. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 explains there is a season and a time for everything that happens under the heavens. Though we pretty much know this, it's not always easy to think of the hardships we're facing as just a season or a time.

We're all going through times of hardship these days. People are out of work, the economy is unstable, and many people are losing their homes. Arguments are rising about health care reform, taxes, and politics in general. People seem to be divided over just about everything, and no one is really sure where any of this is headed. With so much uncertainty in the air, fear can easily take hold of us and begin to control us.

We may find ourselves reading every news article we can find about the state of the economy, jobs, politics, and of course, the health care debate. We begin to talk to people incessantly about it, and we may even feel rage at the injustice we see in so many things. Pretty soon we begin thinking we must do everything we can do to stop it. It soon becomes all we think about, and though we may feel we are doing something useful by keeping up with things and speaking out, we need to be careful not to allow it to become an obsession. Obsession is a stronghold that binds us, and fear is what feeds it.

There is no need to fear. Our major focus during times of hardship should always be on God. We should never get so caught up in what's happening around us, that we miss what He is trying to show us. Every trial and hardship we go through, whether individually, or even as a nation, is indeed, a "season and a time" even though it might not feel like it. It's a time when God is trying to teach us something or make us stop and reflect on our actions. It's a way for Him to draw attention to Himself when He sees us getting too absorbed in the things of the world.

No matter how bad things may seem to be, we can always be assured that every season and time has a "purpose under the heaven."

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