Should you pursue that woman? Should you be more inviting towards that man? Should you ask your boss for a raise? Should you finally share the gospel with that non-Christian friend you’ve been investing in? Should you start that ministry you’ve always dreamed about?
Sometimes God really is telling you to wait. However, if you are waiting for the perfect time to do something, you will never do it. Whether it be a relationship opportunity, a career goal, or some other desire you have, by studying Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, we can see at least four signs God is saying, “Stop waiting for the perfect time.”
1. If You’re Always Delaying to Avoid Risk, This Could Be a Sign God Is Saying, “Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time”
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 (NLT), “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.”
Sending anything across the sea on a ship is risky. The oceans are dangerous. And yet, if you never send out your resources to be sold and bought, you will never make a profit. You will lose some merchandise at sea, which is why you shouldn’t only invest in that one revenue stream. You mitigate risk not by standing still and never investing what the Lord has given you. Rather, you reduce risk by diversifying your investments.
This is the mindset we need as Christians. For example:
- If you’re a Christian single person who wants to be in a relationship, you will never invest in someone if you are always afraid of the risks. When love is involved, risk is required. Which is why you shouldn’t put all your hope in one specific person. Be open to other Christian singles if the option you thought would work doesn’t work.
- If you’re afraid of switching companies because of the unknowns, but you also wish you could make more money and have a more fulfilling position, eventually, you have to take a risk. But don’t burn your bridge at the company you’re at. Try to leave in a respectful way. Leave as many doors open for yourself as possible. You never know what the future holds.
- If you have a strong desire to serve the Lord in a particular way, just know that the perfect opportunity will never come. Vision planning and creating goals are wise. But you have to be flexible and know you’ll need to compromise with others if you ever want to be effective in the real world. Perhaps you will have to take on some ministry tasks you don’t love so you can spend more time doing the tasks you do love.
Big picture, if you’ve been holding onto the seeds God’s given you because you are too afraid of planting them due to unknown risks, this is a strong sign God is telling you stop waiting and get moving.
2. If You’ve Been Struggling with Acceptance, God Could Be Saying, “Stop Waiting for the Perfect the Time”
Ecclesiastes 11:3 (NLT), “When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.”
I believe Solomon is saying that there are things in life that we just need to accept. You may not want it to rain, but when the clouds are heavy, the rain is coming whether you like it or not. Likewise, when a giant tree falls, regardless if it fell where you wanted it, you’re not going to be able to move that tree. Wherever it fell, you have to accept that it is there.
Acceptance is such a powerful trait to possess. So many times, we get stuck in life simply because we can’t accept the reality of a situation.
- You may really want to be in a relationship with that one person you’ve been waiting for. However, sometimes that person has made it clear that they don’t feel the same way.
- You may have really wanted your coworker to be trustworthy. However, time and time again, they keep showing you that they are hindering your growth in the company.
- You may have wanted your church to understand your vision for a ministry. However, no matter how many times you bring it up, they just don’t do anything.
In times like these, we have to accept reality so we can plant our seeds elsewhere. When you are waiting for the perfect time that looks exactly how you expected, you might be waiting forever.
3. If You’ve Been Struggling with Change, God Could Be Telling You to “Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time”
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT), “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.”
I believe acceptance and change need to always go hand-in-hand. While there will always be things in life that you can’t change and that you simply need to accept, there will also always be things in life that you can change and you should not accept. I believe this is why Ecclesiastes 11:4 states what it does directly after verse 3. A successful farmer needs to look at reality and accept what is happening, but he also needs to not overanalyze everything and take advantage of what is in his power.
Likewise, whether it be relationships, career, ministry, or some other desire, paralysis by analysis is always a real threat. It’s so easy to waste our lives waiting to live them. The way you live each day will be how you live your life. God has given you your life to be invested, not just endlessly protected (John 12:24-25).
4. If You Are Waiting for God to Reveal the Future, He Could Be Saying, “Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time.”
Ecclesiastes 11:5-6 (NLT), “Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”
It’s very good to seek understanding about God’s will for your life. However, as Christians, we must also always have the humility to accept that his ways are higher than our ways.
The fact that we don’t know what seeds will prosper if we plant them is not a reason not to plant them. Rather, the Bible teaches us that this is the reason we should plant even more. The only thing we do know is that if we want God to bless our efforts, we need to be putting in the effort.
Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”
