by Victoria Heinecke

Our seasons are ordained by God.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

A virus has dominated our world and our communities. We’ve been sheltered at home for nearly four weeks, and some of us have been in quarantine longer. Our daily activities are affected by it. Our conversations center around it. We cannot get away from it. In the silence of isolation, it seems to be even louder.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 English Standard Version (ESV)

Life continues.

There are seasons of laughter. Marriages are happening. Babies are coming into the world. Unseen children are attending school and playing at home. Work continues for some, and for many of them their workday rhythms are adjusting to the chatter of home.

There are seasons of sadness. Many are unable to find work. Bills need to be paid and families need to be fed. Loved ones are taken from this world, not only the infirm, but also those in the prime of life.

What day is it? Have you asked yourself that question at least once while you’ve been sheltered?

How shall we spend our days during this season – a season which is of God’s perfect timing?

“A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”
Ecclesiastes 3:5 ESV

Many have been stripped of at least one thing in life that was once valued, and for some of us it’s more than one thing. When it seems as if there is nothing left, there is our loving God, amid the chaos, arms outstretched, inviting us to spend time with him.

“A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;”
Ecclesiastes 3: 6b-7 ESV

As we approach the inevitable end of our sheltering, let us continually seek God. He is the source of perfect peace, the balm for our troubled hearts, and protection from the enemy. He will never abandon us.

“A time for war, and a time for peace.”
Ecclesiastes 3:8b ESV

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado