A Time for Everything
VBC Albuquerque · May 1, 2025
This sermon explores the book of Ecclesiastes through King Solomon's account of a man who had everything but discovered that all earthly pursuits are vanity without God. Solomon teaches that everything under heaven has its appointed time—from birth to death, weeping to laughing, war to peace—and only God controls these seasons. The sermon reminds believers that true happiness comes when we thank God for what we have and recognize God as the sovereign Lord over all things.
The book of Ecclesiastes is unique in Scripture because it is the diary of a person focused entirely on earthly life without looking toward heaven. The author is King Solomon, Israel's third king, who possessed everything people could desire: unparalleled wisdom, boundless wealth, widespread fame, and over 700 wives. When God asked Solomon what he wanted, the king did not ask for riches or power but for wisdom to judge the people justly, and God was pleased to grant him not only what he asked but also what he did not ask for.
Despite having everything, Solomon still sought meaning and happiness through gratification: drinking wine, building magnificent palaces, planting gardens, buying servants, and acquiring musicians. However, the king discovered that all these efforts are merely vanity, like dust in the wind—everything will pass away and leave nothing of value. A person who has everything also feels emptiness because God is absent from their life. The happiness Solomon sought is merely a shadow that cannot be grasped.
King Solomon teaches that everything under heaven has its appointed time: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. Time is distributed equally to all people, whether empress or commoner—each person has twenty-four hours a day. No one can control or change these appointed times because they are under God's sovereignty, not humanity's.
Experiencing different seasons of life helps people become more compassionate, tender, and merciful. If experiencing only happiness, one becomes weak and indifferent; if experiencing only suffering, one becomes bitter. It is through loss, failure, and difficulty that we learn to treasure what we have, become more humble, and trust in God. As Scripture says: "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." All that happens has meaning and purpose if we place our complete trust in God.
The sermon concludes with Solomon's counsel: remember your Creator when you are young before the difficult days come. True happiness comes when we thank God for what we have rather than complain about what we lack, and when we continue to look upward to heaven for help from our Creator even while living on earth.