In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider that God has made the one side by side with the other, so that man may not find out anything that shall be after him. – Ecclesiastes 7:14, Amplified Bible (AMP)

As Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) teaches us:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Surely, there are seasons of joy in life and there are seasons of sorrow and struggle. No matter which one of these you are in right now, time will eventually trade out your current season for the opposite.

We rarely ask, “Why?”, when things are good. We usually ask, “Why?”, when things are bad. Whether or not we bother to ask, “Why?”, Ecclesiastes 7:14 very succinctly tells us that both the good times and the bad have a common “Why?”- so that we may find nothing after God.

We fill our lives with things and with activities in a futile attempt to find joy and peace. Even if we are wildly successful, and even if we achieve everything we want in life, we will find, just as Solomon did, that “having it all” is unfulfilling without a personal relationship with God. If, however, we are in a season of despair, and it seems like all of the world is crumbling around us, we will learn that the only true refuge is in God’s promises, and the only hope we have is to place our trust in God for the victory.

If you are in a good season right now, thank God for the blessings you are enjoying today. If you are in a rough season right now, embrace tightly God’s promises, God’s strength, and God’s love that will get you through. No matter what kind of season you are in, remember that there is a reason for the season – to teach you to live in sync with your Loving Creator, not apart from Him. There is, truly, nothing apart from God!