Times and Seasons in God's Plan

God is the Lord of time: he has set the times and the seasons for the accomplishment of his purposes. To the disciples who questioned him about the future, Jesus answered: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7). Ecclesiastes declares with wisdom: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), then lists opposite pairs: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up, a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). The believer is thus called to live in the rhythm of God's times, trusting his sovereignty over history. Daniel testifies that God "changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings" (Daniel 2:21), and that even the seasons of oppression are given into his hand for an appointed term (Daniel 7:25). God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); his times are not ours, for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years" (2 Peter 3:8-9), yet they are perfect. The whole calendar of redemption bears witness: the incarnation came "when the fulness of the time was come" (Galatians 4:4), and Christ's return will come at the appointed moment. Of times and seasons Paul tells the Thessalonians they have no need that he write to them, for they know the day comes as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Facing this mystery, the believer is called to patience and trust: like the husbandman who waits for the early and the latter rain (James 5:7-8), he remains faithful in the present time, assured that God never acts by chance but according to an eternal design.