Anchor Devotional

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The In-Between Times

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

We all would agree with the Ecclesiastes teacher that in life clearly there are times to begin or to finish; times to plant or to reap. In each of our lives there is a time to laugh or to cry, to build up or to tear down. But the way to read at this poem is to understand that these are the polar ends the teacher is giving to us. It’s not as if life is only black and white. There are these things, and then there is everything in between. It’s all the “in-between” that makes life full and complete.

The point is that you and I are not the author of these seasons. We are not in control. We don’t hold the blueprint for how the details of our lives will unfold. Countless songwriters have woven into their lyrics their thoughts about who is in control of the times of our lives. They sing of running from tomorrow, saving time in a bottle, having the time of your life, times that are a-changin’, and so on.

But the Ecclesiastes teacher knows that in all the mundane in-between times of life, there is our Creator God making it beautiful in His time.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Ecclesiastes 3:7-11

INSIGHT
God’s plans for the in-between times of your life are not for disaster but for hope; not for something awful, but beautiful.

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Joshua 7-8
Psalm 100
Acts 24-25

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