Timing is everything.  Many of us have heard this said several times.

If you’ve been on this earth as many revolutions as I have, you know just how true this saying is.  A great idea becomes a very bad idea if its not the right time.  Saying something that is true at the wrong time can create a lot of bad feelings and regrets.

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, knew all about the importance of timing.  He wrote about it in Ecclesiastes – “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

How do I know the right time?

Some of the activities he lists are easy to figure out – “a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Others are not as easy – “a time to search and a time to give up”.  How can I be sure it’s time to give up?  With my personality, I have no trouble persevering, the question is when to give up.

“A time to keep and a time to throw away”.  Some people never think it’s time to throw away.  I am a semi-minimalist so I like to give away things I’m not using.

“A time to be silent and a time to speak”.  I wish I got the timing right on this one more often.

As I read King Solomon’s list, I realize how much wisdom I need if I’m going to get the timing right for many of these ‘activities under heaven’.  And I’m thankful that I know where to get that wisdom.  God clearly tells us in the first chapter of James that he generously gives wisdom to everyone who asks for it.

I know where to go to get the answers for some of these very tough questions about timing.  I have learned to ask God to move when it’s the right time.  And then I watch and wait and do what I already know to do until God shows me that now is the time – his time.

Thank you, Abba Father