It’s fall and once again we experience a change of season. Leaves change colors and fall, temperatures drop, and of course, there’s football. And like all seasons, autumn comes and goes. Such is the nature of time, the raw material of our existence. Solomon wisely said, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecc 3:1) Life, like the year, has its seasons. At 69, according to psychologists, I’ve reached the late adulthood season, and I’m cool with that. In a few months, I will have had my “three-score and ten,” and beyond that it’s all grace.

Life, like the seasons, is marked by transitions. Between these transitions are those stable periods of life where very little change is experienced. Transitional periods of life are marked by greater changes, e.g., going from adolescence into early adulthood. The ensuing mid-life season is where men often experience a transitional crisis, and mid-life eventually transitions into late adulthood.

Each transition comes with its own challenges. Solomon, looking at life “under the sun” with its constant change and lack of permanence, eventually fell into despair. What good is it to work for what we cannot keep? How do we find satisfaction in pleasures that do not last? In frustration he asked, “What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?” (Ecc 3:9)

However, the wise man set forth some principles that enable us to navigate life’s transitions and to enjoy the blessings that come with each season:

1. The Principle of Revelation over Observation

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s problem was observing life strictly from a horizontal point of view, a view that leaves God out of the equation. He reasoned that if all we have is what we see under the sun. then life is truly meaningless. He called it “vanity”, a word that means “vapor” or “breath”, signifying the brevity and fragility of life.

As Christians, we look at life primarily from a vertical point of view based on divine revelation--one that puts God into the equation and brings meaning and purpose to our lives. Observation appeals to physical senses while revelation appeals to our spiritual sense, for we live by faith not by sight. Without God's revelation, it’s easy to understand how living strictly by observation might lead to discouragement and despair.

Living by revelation means allowing the Word of God to shape our perspectives and values. It means we can look through things in this world to see what lies beyond them. We can experience life’s transition with joy and peace knowing God is in control and “works all things together for our good.” (Rom 8:28)

2. The Principle of Resolve over Passivity

As Christians, we should never be content to just let life happen, passively living day-to-day with an attitude of resignation. Rather, we should resolve to accomplish God’s plan for us. Recognize that time, your most precious possession, is given you by God to serve his purposes. Solomon came to admit, “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)

Even in times of pain and sorrow we resolve to rejoice in God’s goodness. We resolve that trials are part of God’s plan and that there is purpose in life’s pain. A quote by Jeremy Taylor, a 17th-century Puritan pastor, has often served to encourage my resolve to trust God in hard times:

“Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God has bound thy trouble to thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou cannot break; and therefore, lie thou gently, and permit the hand of God to do what he pleases.”

3. The Principle of Reverence over Indifference.

There’s no honor in stoicism. It’s not a strength to go through life indifferently as if nothing troubles you or brings you grief. In the Psalms, we often we read of David pouring out his frustrations and sorrows before God. Knowing the Lord was sovereign over all things, David could surrender his will to Him who is gracious and merciful.

The lesson is that none of us can avoid life’s troubles and heartaches. Whatever season of life you are in, whatever the next transition, you can be confident that it’s God who bestows or withholds according to his own sovereign purpose and you are completely dependent on him. Therefore, bow to his will in reverence and gratitude. Knowing his heart, you can trust his hand. The assurance of this truth is the key to navigating life’s transitions and the challenges each one presents.