www.thewilltosucceed.homestead.

com
 Times and Seasons
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “A Time for Everything . . .”
======================================
 Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgements xi
\
Introduction xiii

1 “Why Them and Not Me?” 15

2 “Roll with the Punches” 25

3 “Seed Time or Harvest Time?” 37

4 “Do You Believe in ‘Second Chances’”? 49

5 “Waiting on God” 65

6 “Every Battle You Face is a Test of Your Faith” 79

7 “Praising ‘Him’ in Your Storm” 93

8 “A Diluted Faith” 107

9 “Are You Willing to Serve”? 121

10 “Which Way Should We Go”? 133

About the Author 145

Footnotes 147
 Preface

T he basic argument for this book is that God has appointed fixed laws for the well-being
of man.
In His infinite wisdom, He has also given him an awareness of another life.
Therefore, it is to man’s best interest to obey these laws, consoling himself with the fact of
their immutability and benevolence.
It must have been ten or more years ago that I came across a unique and eye-catching quote:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
Initially I had no clue as to who the speaker was; however, years later (this was before the
advent of the Internet); I learned that the quote was attributed to a George Santayana (1863-1952),
philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.
Although I’m sure Mr. Santana did not intentionally lace his words with scripture, they did
however agree with Ezekiel Chapter 16 and Verse 43:

“Because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me with all
these things, therefore, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head”, says the Lord
God” [Amplified Bible]

For the past 40 years, I have witnessed the systematic unraveling of this great nation’s way of
life by those who claim to be in the “know”.
I find it quite puzzling how generation after generation continues to “trip” over the same
“stones” that befuddled their predecessors.
However, a familiar Verse does come to mind, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth” [2 Timothy 3:7].
In the pages that follow, I hope to give you an insider’s look at an often quoted, but
misunderstood Verse of scripture, Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 and Verse 1, “There is a time for
everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”.
I believe this verse more so than any other, sums up our times and seasons of life.
Admittedly, there was one area that I struggled with throughout this book (which was a good
problem to have), how to condense the past 60 years of my life down to a mere 10 chapters.
 Introduction

T he person who constantly seeks the face of God, will better understand God’s timing.
He understands that often the secret to success is in doing the right thing at the right
time. Timing can be everything.
I’m sure some reading this book are disillusioned with life. It may even be you.
Life at time can seem cold and uncaring. You seem to be locked up in your own private prison
with no way out. However, friend, there is a way out!
It’s not about who or whom you know that gets you through life, but it’s Who knows you—
Jesus Christ.
Are you His? Is He your Father? Do you love Him more today than a thousand yesteryears?
One day soon, you will need to answer those and other questions, but do not delay, the hour
draws nigh that He will soon return for His Bride.
Follow with me in chapter 1 as we discover reasons some prayers are answered and not
others. In chapter 2 we learn that though we live in a topsy-turvy world, there is a light at the end
of the tunnel.
Chapter 3 reinforces the importance of knowing which season, according to God’s timetable,
you are in. In chapter 4, we rediscover the beauty in knowing that God not only is the God of
second chances, but also the God of another chance.
In chapter 5 we learn that while waiting on God is not always easy, it is a regular refrain to
the life of faith. Chapter 6 awakens us to the fact that each of our trials or tribulations comes with
purpose and a reward.
Chapter 7 exposes the so-called “mountaintop security” as only an illusion. The only real
security in this world is God Himself. Chapter 8 is a cautionary message to every Christian:
getting the right medicine [sound Biblical teaching], in the right dosage and at the right time
makes a world of difference.
In chapter 9 we are brought face-to-face with ourselves: “All or nothing” should be our battle
cry. Are we willing to give God our all, or nothing at all?
And finally in chapter 10, the question is asked and then answered, “Which Way Should We
Go”?
 Chapter 1

Why Them and Not Me?

S ometimes it seems as if our prayers are only bouncing off the ceiling.
However, what we feel isn’t always the same as what’s really true.
The Bible teaches us that God does answer prayer (John 16:24).
However, there are a few things we have to remember: God’s answer may not always be what
we were hoping for.
His answer sometimes is simply “no”, and His answer might be something we’ll never
completely understand.
In any case, His answer is always the best answer.
He loves us dearly, and His answers to our prayers are always what we need … even if
they’re not necessarily what we want.
Yes, prayer is a time to be honest with God about what we want. However, it’s also a time for
us to recognize Who’s really in control.
In addition, it’s a time to ask God to help us understand—and accept—what He brings to our
lives.
Now, if it seems like our prayers are going unanswered, we might need to ask ourselves:

—Am I asking with wrong motives?

The Bible says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that
you may spend what you get on your pleasures” [James 4:3].
If we’re simply asking God for stuff—as if He were some kind of supernatural vending
machine—we might need to check our motives.
Prayer is about so much more than simply getting stuff, anyway. It’s about giving God our
adoration and thanking Him for His goodness.
—Have I confessed my sins to God?
Unconfessed sin separates us from God so that it in effect “ties His Hands” thus preventing
Him from answering our prayers: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor
His ear too dull to hear.
 Chapter 3
Are You in Seed Time or Harvest Time?

H ave you ever wondered why it is taking God so long to respond?

What is God doing?
Or maybe you’re feeling like God has forgotten you and that the vision or dream that He
placed in your heart will not come to pass.
Boy, do I have good news for you today! Everything is Right on schedule!
God has you at the right place, at the right time, and if you will just walk closely with Him
and keep your complete trust in Him, everything will turn out just as He said it would!
One of the most vital and crucial things that you must first of all understand in the kingdom of
God is how to understand your times and your seasons with the Lord.
Understanding your times and seasons will help prevent you from making a lot of mistakes in
the future.
It will also help prevent you from making wrong turns and unwise decisions in your life.
Some people run ahead of their season, not discerning the timing of a thing, then they end up
defeated, depleted, weary, and sore distressed.
There is a set time and a set season for everything that the Lord has in store for you in life.
(Look at Psalms 102:13, Ecclesiastes 3:1, 17, Psalms 105:19-20, and also Galatians 4:1-2).
There are some things in life that the Lord will block you from doing to prevent you from
making a huge mistake that is going to cost you your future, slow you down, or hinder your
progress in Him.
Don’t try to step out on somebody else’s word from the Lord for their lives, but step out on
the word He gives to you for you at the appointed time and the right season, and you’ll prosper.
Do not be afraid when your time and season comes, but be strong, be bold, and of a good
courage, and do exactly what the Lord says to you. [1]
God gives us hopes and dreams for certain things to happen in our lives, but He doesn’t
always allow us to see the exact timing of His plan.
Although frustrating, not knowing the exact timing is often what keeps us in the program.
 Chapter 5
Waiting on God

H ave you been praying about a situation in your life and found yourself waiting for a
breakthrough?
Are you wondering why the answer hasn’t come yet?
Do you feel as though victory is passing you by?
Sometimes when we pray long and hard about a situation in our life without receiving any
answers, we just learn to live with it.
We go on about our business, wondering if or when God will send the answer.
But God does hear those prayers, and He’s working out the answers even though we may not
know all the details.
Our situation can change suddenly—quickly without warning!
However, one thing is certain. Before God moves suddenly, we wait.
Waiting for answers is a fact of life—nobody gets out of it.
So the question is not if we’ll wait, but rather how we’ll wait.
And I believe how we wait will determine how long we wait.
In the Bible, Paul and Silas knew about waiting, and they waited well.
Acts 16 tells the story of how they were attacked by a crowd, beaten and thrown in jail.
Verse 24 says the jailer put them in the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in
the stocks.
He was making sure they couldn’t escape. But about midnight, God showed up.
Now it would have been nice if He’d come a little earlier, but Paul and Silas didn’t seem to
mind—they just decided to start singing and began to worship the Lord.
They began to wait on God
When people patiently and expectantly wait on God in the midst of horrible circumstances,
suddenly God breaks through!
Waiting patiently is not a strong suit in American society.
A woman’s car stalls in traffic. She looks in vain under the hood to identify the cause, while
the driver behind her leans relentlessly on his horn.
 Chapter 7
Praising “Him” in Your Storm

I t’s easy to praise God when things are going well.

The true test—the harder one—is whether we can praise God during very difficult
times: a problem at work, a child having trouble in school or with friends, a relational problem, a
wayward adult child, your spouse walking out, an addiction, or the death of a loved one.
When those trials come, and they will, can we look to God in heaven and say, “I praise You
for who You are, no matter my circumstance”?
Something happened one morning that would lead me to learn how to praise God in the storm.
It hit hard and fast, and I knew right away that it was serious,
it had the potential to last weeks or years, and I couldn’t handle it on my own.
After sitting stunned for a bit, I sent an email to several people, some of whom I had known
for a long time and others just a few years.
I knew that once they saw the message, they would pray, and that’s what I needed most-to
know that other people were knocking on the doors of heaven, lifting up the situation.
I received the most tender, supportive responses from people.
In fact, two of them happened to send me to the same long Bible passage.
One of them tacked on a couple of extra verses, and my mind was blown at how those verses
related to my situation.
Every problem and troubling situation believer’s face in this life is either caused or allowed
by God, and for a specific purpose and reason.
He is working out something far greater than what appears to be happening as He guides the
process of transforming you into the image of Christ.
Your faith is being sharpened as a sword to equip you for the battles of this world.
The path of victory has already been set and there is nothing that can destroy a believer who
has put his or her faith in the Cross of Jesus.
We are commanded to be anxious for nothing. However, is that still possible when the
darkness of the storm surrounds us?
The truth is that the strength to endure every painful trial is with you in Christ.
 Chapter 9
Are You Willing to Serve?

“D on’t writhe in guilt if you’re not compelled to march to a street corner to preach the
Gospel” says Author Daniel Sweet.
“Only the Lord Jesus can really touch your heart to the degree that your love for Him makes
you a ‘slave’ to Him, and one who can articulate His faith such that others can believe”.
Therefore, seek Him. Ask Him to show you what you’re supposed to do.
That’s always been the underlying power of Christianity—believers’ one-on-one relationship
with the Creator of the Universe.
“Be still and know that I am God”, we are told. And listen for direction, because perhaps
that’s the one great issue facing Christ’s church: Too few are listening to Him!
God is calling this generation to its true purpose in Christ.
This is an appeal for this generation to live up to that purpose and become what it was
destined to be.
“All or nothing” is a battle cry, a cry to rally and stir up a generation that will give God our all
or nothing at all.
We need to be a generation that does not make Christ simply a part of our lives, but a
generation that puts Christ at the center of everything we do.
We live in a generation where apathy is the norm, not the exception. We are known for our
addiction to video games, lack of interest, and irresponsibility.
Researchers suggest that this is the most biblically illiterate generation in history! It’s time to
change that.
When Jesus tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”
this is not a suggestion but a command.
So let’s be the generation of David’s, the generation of Joshua’s and Caleb’s, the ones who
boldly take a stand for the one true God.
We live in a time when the most we are called to give God is a few hours a week for youth
group and maybe a couple more on Sundays.
 J ames Langston is Senior Pastor and founder of the Pilgrim Outreach Ministries
International, an inter-denominational fellowship ministry.
The ministry broadcasts daily and weekly programs through the Really Simple Syndication
(RSS) audio feeds to viewers throughout the seven continents—a potential audience of 1 million
viewers.
His ministry has impacted people from all walks and professions of life, including:

—Senior naval officers (O-6 through O-8), and Junior Officers (CWO-2 to O-5)
—Junior and senior enlisted (E1-E9)
—Contract Civilians (General Schedule (GS) 5-12))

Innovator, Manager and Leader:

—Directed operations and curriculum for 650 students in five information technology schools
—Managed a $250K budget and $8M plant and minor property for a major communications
station
—Exercised Non Judicial Punishment (NJP) to students under the jurisdiction of Service
Schools Command

James has recorded more than five-hundred sermons and songs, plus more than fifty e-Books.
His literary works are published on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Lulu Incorporated and
NOOK.
He has also written sixteen books.
“America In Crisis” is by far his most easily recognizable and best selling book.
In addition to his work as senior pastor, James is a husband, father, grandfather, avid jogger
and bowling enthusiast.
He is a retired naval officer, having faithfully served his country for almost three decades.
The Langston’s have been married for 40 years.
They have six children and fifteen grandchildren.