A Time for Everything
1For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
9What do people really get for all their hard work? 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11Yet God has made everything beautiful for 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. 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
Ecclesiastes 3
The New Year 2023 has just begun. I am still on the first week of the year. This a new beginning for this blog which has remained silent ever since I opened it many years ago. A time to start writing about my conversations, reflections and thoughts as I read the Psalms and other passages from the Bible. An opportune moment to write about "time" itself.
On the wee hours of a winter morning, I am awake. I have been a little disturbed in my sleep. Some soul searching questions on faith makes me reflect on the early Psalms. The journey of faith has not been easy, there have been many crossroads where decisions have been taken based on elements of faith and trust. It is now a time of reflection and looking ahead.
As I reflect on the Bible, the mirror to my soul, I turn to the book of Pslams. Interestingly Psalms 3 and 4 are written for different times of the day: morning and evening. It kind of encompasses the span of our daily hours, the hours that we are awake in and the hours we are asleep in. The hours which we can call "Chronos". The day in day out living. The marching of time. The passing of seasons. Man's unrelentless aging though the years of his short span of life. The writer of Ecclesiastes would paint a vivid description of time in the 3rd chapter and concludes by saying "vanity of vanities, all is vanity"!
Yet in all of this, there is a window of Karios. The moment, when time itself pauses for you. A moment of direction, blessing, accomplishment. A moment that changes our life-course.
The second psalm is a fitting prelude to the psalms of the morning and evening, which says "How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] are all those who take refuge in Him!." Psalm 2 : 12 b. It speaks of the moment, in which realize that we have a refuge much much bigger than ourselves. The moment of blessing. The moment of God's favor.
With that we move on, finding kairos within our chronos. Finding our moments of God's intervention within our daily grind.
In this context, here I re-share the psalms, highlighting the words that "jumped-out" for me!
PSALM 3 Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
2Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah.
3But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
4With my voice I was crying to the Lord,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.
PSALM 4 Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;
Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.
3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly
man [the one of honorable character and moral courage—the one who does right].
The Lord hears and responds when I call to Him.
6 Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see some good!”
Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O Lord.
7 You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.
8 In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
Now a song to go with the theme...Time, time, time by Art Garfunkle and Paul Simon
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