There Is a Time for Everything

“For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens,” says the Bible. The writer of those words, the ancient wise King Solomon, went on to say that there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to build and a time to tear down, a time to love and a time to hate. Finally, he observed: “What advantage is there for the doer in what he is working hard at?”​—Ecclesiastes 3:1-9.

UPON reading those words, some people conclude that the Bible does indeed teach that there is a predetermined time for everything; that is to say, they think that the Bible supports the belief in fate. Is that really so? Does the Bible support the notion that everything in life is controlled by fate? Since “all Scripture is inspired of God,” what we read in one part of the Bible must harmonize with what we find in other parts of it. Therefore, let us see what the rest of God’s Word, the Bible, has to say on the matter.​—2 Timothy 3:16.

Time and Unforeseen Occurrence

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon further wrote: “I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor.” Why? He explained: “Because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.”​—Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Rather than suggesting that everything in life is determined by fate, Solomon was pointing out that humans cannot accurately predict the outcome of any endeavor “because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” Often, something happens to a person simply because he is in the right place at the right time, or we might say, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Take, for example, the statement: “The swift do not have the race.” You may recall or may have read about the famous, though bizarre, 3000-meter women’s race in the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Two runners, one representing Britain and the other representing the United States, were both hoping to win the gold medal. Halfway into the race, however, they collided on the track. One fell and was out of the race; the other was so disheartened that she finished seventh.

Was it fate that things turned out that way? Some may say so. But clearly it was the collision​—an accident no one could have foreseen—​that caused both of them to lose the race. Then, was it fate that they collide? Again, some may say so. Yet, commentators attributed the accident to the intense competition between two strong athletes running a close race, with each trying to dominate. As the Bible says, “time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” No matter how well-prepared one may be, there are always some unexpected elements that may affect the outcome of an endeavor, and it has nothing to do with fate.

What, then, does the Bible mean when it says: “For everything there is an appointed time”? Is there anything we can do that will affect the outcome of our life​—our destiny?

The Best Time for Every Endeavor

Far from speaking about any individual’s fate or describing the eventual outcome of one’s life, the inspired Bible writer was speaking of God’s purpose and how it would affect mankind. How do we know that? Basically, that is what the context tells us. After mentioning many things that appear to have “an appointed time,” Solomon wrote: “I have seen the occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. Everything he has made pretty in its time.”​—Ecclesiastes 3:10, 11.

God has given mankind many occupations, or things to do​—Solomon listed a number of them. God has also given us the free will to choose what we want to do. However, for every task, there is a time that is right, or favorable, producing the best result. Take, for instance, Solomon’s statement “a time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted,” found at Ecclesiastes 3:2. Farmers know that for every crop, there is a right time for planting it. What if a farmer ignores that simple fact and plants a crop at the wrong time or season? Should he blame it on fate if he does not get a good harvest, even though he has worked hard on it? Of course not! He simply did not plant the crop at the right time. The farmer could have done well had he followed the natural order of things established by the Creator.

Thus, what God has set down is, not the fate of individuals or the outcome of all events, but certain principles that govern the operation of human affairs in line with his purpose. For humans to enjoy the result of their endeavors, they must discern and work in harmony with God’s purpose and time. What is predetermined and unalterable is not the fate of individuals but what God has purposed to do. Through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah declared: “My word that goes forth from my mouth . . . will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”​—Isaiah 55:11.

What, then, is God’s “word,” or stated purpose, regarding the earth and mankind’s future that “will have certain success”?

Understanding God’s Time

Solomon provided a clue. After saying, “Everything [God] has made pretty in its time,” he went on to say, “Even time indefinite he has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the true God has made from the start to the finish.” The NIV Study Bible renders this verse: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”​—Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Much has been written on this verse. But the simple fact is that deep down in our heart, all of us at one point or another have wondered about the meaning of life and about our ultimate destiny. Throughout the ages, people have found it difficult to accept that life consists solely of toiling at the occupations at hand, only to have death end it all. We humans are unique among all living creatures in that we think not only about the here and now but also about life’s end and beyond. We even yearn for the possibility of living forever, eternally. Why? As the scripture explains, God has “set eternity in the hearts of men.”

To satisfy that yearning, people have grappled with the concept of life after death. Some conclude that something in us lives on after we die. Others believe that we will be reborn in endless reincarnations. Still others think that everything in life is fixed by fate or providence and that there is nothing we can do about it. Sadly, none of these explanations have been completely satisfactory. This is because by their own efforts, “mankind [will] never find out the work that the true God has made from the start to the finish,” says the Bible.

This deep-seated conflict between the desire to know and the inability to find the answer has tormented thinkers and philosophers throughout the ages. However, since God has put that yearning or desire in our heart, is it not logical to look to him to provide what is needed to satisfy that desire? After all, the Bible says of Jehovah: “You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16) By turning to God’s Word, the Bible, we can find satisfying explanations about life and death and about God’s eternal purpose regarding the earth and the human family.​—Ephesians 3:11.

A Time to Choose

“God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.”​—Genesis 1:27.

THOSE familiar words in the opening pages of the Bible set out one of the grandest things that God “has made pretty in its time”​—bringing into existence a perfect human couple, Adam and Eve. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) As their Creator, Jehovah God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.”​—Genesis 1:28.

In that statement to the first human pair, God made known his purpose to them. They were to multiply and to care for the earth, turning it into a global paradise home for themselves and their offspring. There was no predetermined time for them to live and to die. Instead, God placed before them a marvelous prospect. By making the right choice and remaining in harmony with God, they could live in perfect peace and happiness forever.

They chose badly, and as a result, old age and death have been the lot of all humans. In fact, the patriarch Job acknowledged: “Man, born of woman, is short-lived and glutted with agitation.” (Job 14:1) What went wrong?

“Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned,” explains the Bible. (Romans 5:12) That “one man,” of course, was Adam, who deliberately chose to violate God’s simple yet clear command. (Genesis 2:17) By his choice, Adam forfeited his opportunity to live forever on a paradise earth. He also forfeited for his offspring a precious inheritance and passed on to them the curse of sin and death. It appeared that everything was lost​—or was it?

A Time for Renewal

Millenniums later, the psalmist was inspired to write: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:29) As assurance that his Edenic promise will be fulfilled, God’s Word beautifully describes what he will soon do: “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” Then God himself says: “Look! I am making all things new.”​—Revelation 21:4, 5.

Since there is an appointed time for everything, the question that logically arises is, When will that time of renewal come, so that the wonderful promises by God will come true? The publishers of this magazine, Jehovah’s Witnesses, have been endeavoring to call to people’s attention that we are living in what the Bible calls “the last days” and that the time for God to take action to ‘make all things new’ is at hand. (2 Timothy 3:1) We urge you to examine the Bible and learn about the wonderful prospects that can be yours. We also urge you to accept this invitation: “Search for Jehovah, you people, while he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near.” (Isaiah 55:6) Rather than being decided by fate, your life and eternal prospects are in your own hands!