What Time Is It?

“Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times…” Isaiah 33:6a

“Times” in this verse is the word ‘et, which refers to a particular time—a season, an age, an occasion, some particular period of time, or the current times. It does not refer to a vast expanse of time, but rather a small space of time.

We’ve had times of grieving, times of frustration, times of fear, times of great joy, times of anger, times of growth, times of fruitfulness. We can all recall these varied times in our lives. They start, and they end. They often overlap, and perhaps it is hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. But they all start, and sometime later they conclude.

‘Et includes the seasons of our lives, including portions of our lifetimes. There is the time of youth, and the time of motherhood, and the time of old age mentioned in the Bible. There are also mentioned times of trouble, times of love, uncertain times, and evil times.

Today’s Scripture speaks of what keeps us stable in all these times. God is our stabilizer. Wisdom and knowledge are from Him. His wisdom, and the knowledge of Him, are the stability of all the times of our lives.

God has appointed times in each life for everything necessary. As Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 so famously states, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. Every purpose. In other words, God has a reason, a purpose, for all that we experience. Birth and death. Planting and harvesting. Killing and healing. Breaking down and building up. Weeping, laughing, mourning, dancing. Embracing, and holding back. Gaining, losing; keeping, throwing away. Silence and speech. Love and hate. War and peace. All these, God has appointed for our lives. This is fullest experience of humanity—He gives it all.

But we too often feel stuck. We feel things will never change. At these times, it’s important to realize that every time has an end (excluding the “time without end” of God.) This may be one reason God appointed the agricultural seasons of spring, summer, winter, and autumn—so that we will realize anew every three months or so that change is coming, just as He said it would.

If our lives are currently in a season of breaking down, we have the promise of a season of building up to come. If we are now weeping, a time for laughter has been appointed to us. Whatever season we are in, it will change, and God’s wisdom and knowledge stabilize us through them all.

The healing, the building up, the peace, the laughing and dancing—they all may come in heaven, of course; but a promise is a promise, when spoken by the Lord. Be assured, He is a Rock to stand on, a firm foundation, no matter what times we are in.

Lord, we put all our trust in You. Stabilize us by Your wisdom and knowledge. Amen.