There is Time for Everything: There is a Time for Every Purpose

There is Time for Everything: There is a Time for Every Purpose
Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (See also: Bible Verses about Times and Seasons)




One of my all time favorite movies is “Coming to America”. Eddie Murphy plays Akeem, an African prince who is exploring America for the very first time (Many of you are probably familiar with the story). I can’t tell you how many times my sisters and I watched this movie growing up. After a while, we could practically recite the scenes from the entire movie :)!

“Good Morning My Neighbors!”
One of my favorite scenes is the morning after Akeem arrives in America. He and his friend are living on maybe the 3rd floor of an apartment building. Akeem wakes up probably at the crack of dawn, opens up his windows, and screams really cheerfully “Good Morning, My Neighbors!” – expecting cheerful greetings in return. He instead gets rained down with an anything but cheerful “F-You!!!”, from someone whose sleep has presumably just been disturbed.

What made the scene even funnier was the fact that he was just so oblivious to what that meant! With arms stretched out wide, he beamed and replied ever so enthusiastically – “Yes, Yes, F-You too!!!” LOL.

This scene always reminds me of the following Bible verse:

“If you wake your friend in the early morning by shouting “Rise and shine!” It will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing.” ~ Proverbs 27:14 (Message)
Related: Funny Bible Verses, Quotes & Scriptures in the Bible

In this case, it’s pretty obvious what the problem was – The intent was great, the message/greeting was great, but the timing was just horrible! Bad timing can quickly turn something that was intended to be pleasant into a big nuisance. Another obvious example is receiving calls from friends/relatives from a different time zone, in the middle of the night. It is of course always wonderful to hear from loved ones, but most people would probably not appreciate being awakened in the middle of the night simply to chat.

Many situations where this important lesson also applies can be less obvious however. For example, when trying to reach out to someone to console them about something, say a sincere prayer, let them know they are in our prayers, offer advice about a situation, etc – I am praying that we always have the wisdom and discretion to always do it the right way, and at the right time, so that our good intentions are never a nuisance.




One such example is when someone is believing God for something in their life. It could be anything – a job, a better job, a financial breakthrough, a child, a spouse, a new home, healing in their body or their marriage, a brand new direction, etc.

While it is great for people to know we have them in mind, there is no need to bring it up when the situation doesn’t warrant it or when they themselves don’t bring it up – for example going up to a person who is having fun at a party, in the presence of several other people, saying loudly – “I’m praying for you bro/sis, Your turn will come, God will answer your prayers for xyz, ok?!” So not speaking or acting in a manner that will for instance embarrass, inconvenience, irritate, discourage or otherwise annoy the person we are reaching out to.

And I pray that when someone is trying to tell us, not necessarily always with words, sometimes just with subtle actions – you know what – thanks, but this is just not the right time – we will know how to back off, and not be unintentionally insensitive, completely oblivious to the message being sent to us. That we are able to process feedback (subtle or not) efficiently, learn, re-learn, and constantly apply what we’ve learned in our communication with others.

Here’s the Verse/Thought of the Day:
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. A time to keep silence, And a time to speak..” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b (NKJV)  See also: A Time to Be Silent and A Time to Speak
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Prayer: Dear Lord, please grant us the wisdom to know when to speak and what to say. Also, please grant us discernment to know when to be quiet. Related: Examples of Wisdom in the Bible and in Everyday Life ; When God doesn’t answer your prayer





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Thanks for reading, Dear Friends!
Have a wonderfully blessed, stress-free, productive, and joyful day!
Much Love & Blessings,
Bomi Jolly ~ JollyNotes.com
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Don’t go yet! I think you’ll also enjoy:
Investing in People’s Lives (The Follow Up to This Post)
Keep Being a Blessing
God’s Mercy is for Everyone ~ God’s Mercy is for All!

How To Accept Jesus Into Your Heart
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