Tag: Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

‘It feels like it has been an Eternity!’ Praying to better Trust God’s Timing during our LONG seasons of waiting. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Complete Jewish Bible

11 He has made everything suited to its time; also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity; but in such a way that they can’t fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them to do than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work, is a gift of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

There are so many profound truths throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, and Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a great reminder of God’s perfect timing. So often in life, we put a prayer in motion for exactly how we want and envision things to work out.

We think we’ve got things figured out, like we know what’s best for our future.

We pray and we pray!

We wait and we wait!

We are good and pious Christians and we believe we have a strong relationship, a strong connection to God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Except … How long are we actively, patiently, genuinely ‘waiting for the Lord’ before our prayers begin to sound like: “Lord, exactly how long is eternity?”

In our frail humanity, it’s easy to forget that God’s perfect timing for our lives can turn out to be completely different from what we imagine as being right.

In Isaiah 55:8-9, we’re told,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Our thoughts and ways are always vastly different from our Lord’s, aren’t they?

I also really like how Ecclesiastes 11:5 talks about the wonders of God: “Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.”

How many times have you and I been in a fluid situation, prayed and prayed, anticipated how circumstances would work out, as though we were in control?

How many times do you and I think that we are the one who’s in control, that we can climb any mountain with your own joy and our own strength, that we can persevere better and change someone’s heart through your own actions?

Faith Under Pressure

2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

9-11 When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don’t ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that’s a picture of the “prosperous life.” At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.

12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

16-18 So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. (The Message)

The reality is, if we are 1% patient enough to accept that God is in control, it’s a real reality check for us that only through Him we accomplish anything at all!

In Matthew Henry’s commentary, he says the following about Ecclesiastes 3:11:

“Every thing is as God made it; not as it appears to us. We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thoughts and cares of worldly things, that we have neither time nor spirit to see God’s hand in them. The world has not only gained possession of the heart, but has formed thoughts against the true beauty of God’s works.”

When I find myself getting impatient or experiencing disappointment, or when things don’t work out as I think they should, it’s a great reminder to look at verses such as Ecclesiastes 3:11 about God’s promise of His perfect timing.

It may not make sense right now, but try praying, believing, God’s got a reason.

Our task, like Job, is to continue praising Him even when things don’t make sense, and to continue trusting Him and growing our Faith. “Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.” [Job 5:9]

Job experienced more echelons beyond hardcore testing circumstances and situations throughout his life, yet he never once questioned what God was doing. He knew God had a plan and would work every thing out in His timing.

Job 19:13-29 The Message

I Know That God Lives

13-20 “God alienated my family from me;
    everyone who knows me avoids me.
My relatives and friends have all left;
    houseguests forget I ever existed.
The servant girls treat me like a deadbeat off the street,
    look at me like they’ve never seen me before.
I call my attendant and he ignores me,
    ignores me even though I plead with him.
My wife can’t stand to be around me anymore.
    I’m repulsive to my family.
Even street urchins despise me;
    when I come out, they taunt and jeer.
Everyone I’ve ever been close to abhors me;
    my dearest loved ones reject me.
I’m nothing but a bag of bones;
    my life hangs by a thread.

21-22 “Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me.
    God has come down hard on me!
Do you have to be hard on me, too?
    Don’t you ever tire of abusing me?

23-27 “If only my words were written in a book—
    better yet, chiseled in stone!
Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—
    and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.
And I’ll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—
    see God myself, with my very own eyes.
    Oh, how I long for that day!

28-29 “If you’re thinking, ‘How can we get through to him,
    get him to see that his trouble is all his own fault?’
Forget it. Start worrying about yourselves.
    Worry about your own sins and God’s coming judgment,
    for judgment is most certainly on the way.”

Wherever you are today, however like Job you feel like, whether you’re waiting, wondering, or worrying, or anxious take heart. God’s perfect timing is worth the wait! God is in control, and He hath made every thing beautiful in His time.

Restoration will come to you …

An over and above abundance of Blessings will shower down upon your life … (Job 42:7-17)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 New King James Version

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

14 Wait[e] on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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20/20 Hindsight. The “Right Ways” and The “Wrong Ways,” All the “Ways” that Seem So Right to Us. Proverbs 14:11-13

Proverbs 14:11-13 The Message

11 Lives of careless wrongdoing are run-down shacks;
    holy living builds soaring cathedrals.

12-13 There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;
    look again—it leads straight to hell.
Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,
    but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Reflections: 20/20 Hindsight and Run Down Cabins in the Woods

Many of us have had moments when we have looked back on a past decision and wondered, “How did I ever think that was a good idea?”

Yet at the time, that decision or choice probably seemed right to us.

There’s a reason why people say, “Hindsight is 20/20.”

This means that you and I can often see a situation more clearly (as with 20/20 vision) after it has passed and you have had time to learn and also lament from some of the choices or lack of choices you have or have not made.

Our own ability to see clearly in the present moment is limited.

And what appears to be a right decision or right thinking in the moment can sometimes do more harm than good.

There is a reason why people also seriously lament that “Hindsight is 20/20.”

Paint a portrait “Hindsight is 20/20” for your living room wall might look strikingly, an infinity mirrored vision of one man looking at his own back.

illustration of man reflecting himself in the mirror, loop surreal concept

9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift. [Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Message]

Solomon was a wise son who paid attention to his father, David.

He also sought to be a wise father by sharing his wisdom with his own sons and compiling his own set of righteous guidelines and the learned sayings of others, into a compendium, then, today, and tomorrow, is called the Book of Proverbs.

He did this to encourage his own children towards righteous living.

Reverence for the Lord our God and trust in His Word is the foundation upon which true wisdom is based and we in the Church age have discovered that in our Savior Christ Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Living and Learning from our wise and foolish choices in life are of a true and lasting benefit and these ‘Proverbs of Solomon’ are an amazing collection of maxims for profitable living – ancient learning from the wisest of the wise.

They cover an extraordinarily wide range of subject matter which can surely help the reader to prevent foolish behaviour and ungodly decisions in areas like relationships and friendships, laboring, working, finances, and a fruitful life.

This not only pleases God and demonstrates faith in His Word, but gives every day measured advice on peaceful living while avoiding troublesome situations.

Like much of the book of the Proverbs, Chapter 14 is written in couplets which contrast wise and foolish behaviour.

We read a wise woman builds her home, but the foolish woman tears it down; the one who walks in uprightness fears God, while the devious despises Him.

This chapter also compares and contrasts a trustworthy witness with a false one, bitterness with joy, also foolish and wise attitude towards sin, and the inevitable destruction of wicked men with the upright man, who will flourish.

In this verse the couplet has a poignant twist, demonstrating the truly chilling consequences of self-deception.

It explains that a bad decision… which may seem to be a good and wise choice from a human perspective, will in fact result in disaster.

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

The collection of people in this proverb are deluded and devoid of true wisdom and understanding, which comes from God alone.

By falsely judging a situation to be beneficial, they find that the thing which appeared so enticing and which they thought was so right, had the opposite effect and only brought them to disaster. 

This saying is a ‘stand-alone’ truth that is applicable to every man, but in order to discover the godly way to go, the correct choices to make, the true path that leads to life and light, peace and hope… the entire book of Proverbs needs to be seriously taken into account for it records every aspect of living a godly life.

Perhaps the key to the entire book of Proverbs, upon which all every piece of good advice is founded, is the truth Solomon taught his son in chapter 3,

Proverbs 3:5-8 English Standard Version

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh[a]
    and refreshment[b] to your bones.

Guidance for godly and ungodly living can be found throughout these Proverbs and it is attributed to lifelong observations of Solomon – the wisest of the wise by God’s gift [1 Kings 3:5-15] but also the very pinnacle of fools [1 Kings 11:1-4]

Illustration of man, face hidden, looking down at the end of his life’s surreal path

Jesus also spoke to the interested, disinterested, about 20/20 hindsight …

20/20 Examining Our Faith and How We Choose to Look at Things

Matthew 6:25-34 New King James Version

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b] stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Six years ago, in the atrium of our church one Sunday, I noticed one of our senior members standing quietly.

Her face wasn’t happy, but it was welcoming. I understood the look of tiredness and concern he showed.

Her husband of 63 years had just recently passed away from Lung Cancer.

She told me her 60 year old son was battling several serious health issues.

At 88 years of age, it was obvious that her own health was not robust.

And yet he was there, at church among the worshipers.

I reached out to shake her hand and asked, “How are you doing?”

Her less-than-enthusiastic response: “Okay, I guess.”

After a pause she stated bluntly, “I don’t care about anything anymore.”

Caught by Surprise, I asked, “Nothing?”

She shifted a bit and then said, “There was a time when I liked boats and cars and lots of things.

I got excited about them.

They kept our family together, gave our lives genuine meaning,

But they don’t mean anything to me anymore.”

I began to understand.

Material things no longer grabbed her attention.

Desire for stuff no longer preoccupied her.

As her husband suffered for so long with cancer, lost his ability to relate to others, and as he increasingly depended on others to care for his every need, she had grown to know the wearing and weary­ing effects of caring for him.

That she had to sometimes also care for her ailing son at the same time,

Her outlooks and perspectives on life had drastically changed.

Things decreased in importance, and relationships—with God, with family, with church—became her priority.

This sister was learning more deeply the meaning of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and her quiet strength was truly heartwarming.

That at any age we should come to such a time in life where we are able to sit down long enough with ourselves and our Savior Jesus and seriously converse.

20/20 Hindsight … All Those Choices that Seemed Right to Us

Jesus warned his disciples that following him would not be easy or even look like a good idea at times.

He spoke about the costs of being his disciple, but he also promised that his way leads to life.

He said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

In other words, there will be many right and wrong choices that appear to be right (even religiously) and seem more attractive than the way of Jesus, but in the end they will bring grief and misery and destruction, poverty and despair.

We cannot just stop living life, making choices and making decisions simply because we fear for the future – we first line up all our infinite regrets in a row.

A spiritually stagnant Christian …

A steadfastly immovable, ice cold, immobile, spiritually stagnant Christian …

A steadfastly immovable, ice cold, immobile, spiritually stagnant Church …

Struggling mightily to rediscover their first choice, and how and why and where and when all salvation came by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, for there is no other name given among men whereby we must each be saved…  

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Hoy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for my great salvation in Christ and that in Him is found all wisdom and knowledge. Thank You for the many principles and precepts that are so helpful and encouraging in the book of Proverbs. I pray that throughout my life, I would Come to more wisely apply its wise concepts and trust in You in all things, and not seek to choose to do anything according to my own limited understanding. Give me discernment I pray, keep me from all forms of self-delusion and self-deception. May I never be foolish enough to journey along the paths that may seem right to me but ends in destruction. Thank You that You have promised to guide my steps and may my ear be ever open to Your direction. This I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

One Possible Choice When Choosing Your Source for Help In Daily Living

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