Have Patience

Scripture Passage

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Sermon Script

What kind of relationship do you have with time? It slows down when we want it to go faster, and speeds up when we want it to go slower. For most people, they see time as something to be measured, divided, controlled and conquered. We can say that our life is a constant struggle against time.

Beneath it all, we have a certain fear towards time. We don’t see time as our friend. We see it as our enemy. Someone that interferes with our life and needs to be kept at bay as much as possible. That is why we often feel the need to regulate and manage time. We experience this especially during the school year.

But the kind of time that is talked about in today’s passage is different. The writer of Ecclesiastes begins with these words—

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…

Ecclesiastes 3:1

When the Ecclesiastes writer mentions ‘time’, he is using it in a different way than we usually understand it. It is not the kind of time we can look and read off our watch. Like ‘8:05am’, for instance. Rather, it refers to a kind of time that deals with certain important and decisive moments in life.

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away…
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak…

Ecclesiastes 3:6, 7

We can never plan when we will do any of these things in advance. Can you decide beforehand when you will be silent and when you will speak? It’s impossible. But we do know when those moments finally come.

Gene asked me this recently. Do you plan on doing Hi-C ministry well into the future? I said, it is not something I plan or determine as I want. I believe that there is a time for everything. There will be a time when I’m called to a different ministry. I don’t know when that will be exactly. What I do know, is that now is the time for me to continue pastoring our youth and young adults. When it is time for me to move on, I will know. Until then, I will be faithful to what God has called me to do.

We can never dictate or control this kind of time. Because it is ultimately in God’s hands. The writer of Ecclesiastes saw that during his life.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Hearing something like this can make us uneasy. We don’t like to not know. We like the feeling of being in control and having things settled. We want to live in certainty, not in uncertainty Then what are we supposed to do, if this is our reality?

God has made everything beautiful in its time. Since this kind of time is ultimately in God’s hands, the best thing we can do is to be patient. Instead of rushing and insisting that things be the way we want, we do what we can and wait for God who knows what is best for us.

That was how Jesus lived. He did not live according to what he felt like doing in the moment. He did not try bending his life according to his wishes and wants. He lived each day giving his best, but ultimately waited for God to show him when to do what.

In other words, Jesus lived according to God’s time, not his own. That is why when his brothers pushed him to show who he is to the public, he said—

My time is not yet here.

John 7:6

Jesus knew why he came. To glorify God – the one who had sent him. But he also knew that it wasn’t the time for him to do that yet. He knew that he had to wait. So he waited, with patience. When the time finally came, he knew it and acted decisively. Later in the gospel, he said—

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

John 12:23

2025 has come. It is not only a new year in a chronological sense. It is also a time for us to embark on a new journey. That is what makes new year’s exciting.

You may have made new year’s resolutions. You may have set certain goals for yourself this year. You may have wishes and dreams that you want to see fulfilled. Those are all great. They show that you don’t want this year to just pass by.

But let us also remember that our life is not only about what we do. Our life is not all about getting things done quickly. Our life is also about seeing what God shows us along the way. This second half, in my view, is much more important. We are so driven by our impulse and ambition that we miss what God is doing in our life.

Don’t underestimate or overlook God’s timing. Much of our problems in life come from confusing our timing with God’s timing. Even God said his thoughts are not ours.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8, 9

When things don’t go according to your plan, don’t get frustrated. When things don’t happen when you expect them to happen, don’t get so easily disappointed. Don’t start blaming your circumstances and the people around you.

Have patience. In patience, there is humility. You are acknowledging that you don’t know everything. Learn to wait, while doing what you need to do right then. Though it might be frustrating at times, God will accomplish all things in his time That is our faith.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, 
and he will establish your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

We may not be able to dictate God’s timing as we wish. But we can discern God’s timing through prayer. Discerning God’s timing is seeking God’s will. Jesus showed us that when he taught the first half of the Lord’s prayer—

“This, then, is how you should pray:“
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
  your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:9, 10

In your prayer, you will be in tune with God. You will be freed from your desire for control. You will learn how to trust God Then, you will have patience.

Your life will not become a dreadful problem to be solved, but an exciting adventure to be lived. Life is not what you figure out. Life is what you discover. May 2025 be filled with surprises and discoveries God will guide your every step.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!