A Reason, A Season, An Eternity

I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. Yet God has made everything beautiful in its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:10-11

A Reason, A Season, An Eternity

Life is a mixture of highs and lows, and no amount of happiness or laughter can erase the heavier realities of life, death, and eternity. 

In Solomon's journey to find wisdom, he searched for it through seeking pleasure. But he came up empty. “I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?" (Ecclesiastes 2:1–2). Good things, laughter, or pleasure cannot ultimately satisfy the human heart. By itself, it's futile. Or as Solomon says, it's like the "chasing of the wind."

He also discovered that Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains (Proverbs 14:13). Human emotions are complex. Laughter and heartache can coexist, and even our happiest moments may be followed by a twinge of sorrow. None of us can escape heartache in this life. But what we come to learn is that heartache has a reason, a season, and a refining influence on us. It serves as an important role in life, death, and eternity.  

A Broken World

Deep down in every person's heart lies an underlying sadness over humanity's fallen state and a yearning to be restored to our true home with God (1 Chronicles 29:15; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Psalm 42:2; 119:19–20). While we experience lots of joy in this life, it's fleeting and never completely full. We live in a broken world where everyone and everything is infected with sin. Scripture says the whole creation groans with eager longing to be freed from its corruption (See Rom 8:19-22). And behind all our laughter and smiles, there's a hole in every human heart that only the Lord Jesus can fill.

Solomon goes on to say there's “a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance” (Ecc 3:4). There's a time for everything, and there are countless reasons for our many different seasons. Many are full of light and laughter. Others are heavy and hard. For the Christian, it's never just doom and gloom, and it's certainly never just rainbows and sunshine for anyone. The fluxuating seasons we go through are often a mixture of both. In our low seasons, the Lord is so kind to give us relief, comfort, mercy, and hope along the way. And in our high seasons, He still allows some tests to come to keep us humble and dependent on Jesus.

One Day at a Time

As believers, we shouldn't be surprised by life’s trials (1 Peter 4:12) but be prepared for them by being anchored in the truth. We're not to crumble during seasons of trials and suffering or become too self-reliant in the easier ones. Through faith, we are to enjoy the good times, persevere through the hard times with patience and hope, and always be thankful to God for everything (Eph 5:20). James even tells us to "count our trials all joy" because Jesus builds our endurance through the testing of our faith (James 1:2-3). Paul lets us know that He works all things together for our good (Rom 8:28), and Peter says that He confirms, strenghtens, and establishes us "after we've suffered a little while" (1 Peter 5:10).

The Lord's plans are never to hurt us but to help us and give us a future (Jerermiah 29:11). We're to recognize that all these seasons are normal and natural, as much as they are unpredictable. We are to be well-prepared for them all, simply by trusting in Jesus one day at a time.

A Refining Influence

"Even in laughter the heart may ache” also goes along with Solomon's statement, “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time (Ecclesiastes 7:2–4).

The believer goes through seasons with the awareness of his own mortality. Going to funerals and experiencing loss and sadness are hard but also good reminders that we will all one day reach our last (Job 30:23, Heb 9:27). This sobering thought is to help point us to the only One who can save us—Jesus. Sometimes, God uses the death of a loved one and works through that person's heartache to help him think about the afterlife for himself— with the ultimate goal of drawing him to Jesus in saving faith.

Heartache and sadness, while painful, serve a profound and ultimately good purpose in our lives. They remind us of our human fragility and the fleeting nature of our earthly existence. Times of sadness often compel us to reflect, causing us to think deeper about our values, priorities, and what really matters. Most importantly, heartache can lead us to recognize our own sinfulness and our need for a Savior. This introspection is an encouraging one to every person with a hole in their heart. It helps point us to Jesus, place our faith and hope firmly in Him alone (Psalm 39:4–7), and be given a new heart through the new birth (Ezekiel 36:26, John 3:3).

In our sorrow over our sin and this broken world, we can be reminded of Jesus' words on the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Jesus lived for us, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again from the dead. Ultimately, we find comfort in the Truth that Jesus is our Savior and we are forgiven all our sins—past, present, and future. Talk about being blessed!

Get Ready

God grants us this one life on earth as the only opportunity to know Him and receive His gift of eternal life, through faith in Jesus. If we spend our short time here on earth just laughing our lives away and having a good ole' time, we won't be prepared to die. We are to live each day, knowing we're secure in Christ and knowing where we're headed—for the Christian it's Heaven. We are to prepare wisely for this awesome future, just like we would prepare for an awesome vacation, but infinitely more so! As we look forward to going on a big trip, we do all that needs to be done before we go. So, shouldn't we get ready for the biggest trip of our entire existence? You may ask, "How?" Well, we simply get ready for it by seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness every day, one moment at a time, trusting that our Heavenly Father will provide what we truly need (Matthew 6:33). Seeking God's kingdom and righteousness involves living in ongoing repentance and faith, leading sincere and devoted lives to our Lord Jesus, by His grace.

We may not always be able to understand the Lord's purpose in the various cycles of life. However, we can humbly trust Jesus has His reasons and seasons for us carefully laid out on His perfect timetable, and He sees the whole scope of eternity. He has appointed a reason and a season for all our our laughter and tears, and all our dancing and grieivng, and He ultimately is in control of them all (Ecclesiastes 3:1–22). To Him be the glory both now and forever, amen!

We can trust Jesus

• that God's plan is perfect (Psalm 18:30).

• that He makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

• that one day He will wipe away our every tear, and we'll never feel sad again (Revelation 21:4).

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“Show me, Lord, the end of my life and the number of my days; let me understand how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is insignificant before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who appear secure. Surely everyone moves about like a mere shadow; in vain they accumulate wealth without knowing who will eventually possess it. But now, Lord, what do I seek? My hope is in you” Psalm 39:4–7.