Ecclesiastes 7:8-18 New American Standard Bible
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be [a]eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the [b]heart of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good,
And an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [c]protection just as money is [d]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
13 Consider the work of God,
For who is able to straighten what He has bent?
14 On the day of prosperity be happy,
But on the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will not discover anything that will come after him.
15 I have seen everything during my [e]lifetime of futility; there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you die [f]before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing while not [g]letting go of the other; for one who fears God comes out with [h]both of them.
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.
“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.” – Ecclesiastes 7:14
It’s now Thanksgiving season, and I have naturally been thinking of all I am thankful for.
God, life, family, friends, jobs, material blessings, church, etc.
Those are all things I am absolutely thankful for, but year after year it all just seems, too familiar, too routine, too “blah” “ho-hum” ugh, predictable.
Saying I’m thankful for my family, etc. just doesn’t seem like enough for some reason. It doesn’t seem honest enough. It doesn’t show the reality of my days.
It doesn’t show the depth of my thoughts of depravity – to just finally forget it all – stop answering my phone and similar such excuses, things of this nature .
It is all just too superficial.
You may get what I’m saying.
You may not.
But hear my heart, here.
I have gotten to know a number of souls in the past five years or so who live day to day through situations and relationships I cannot even begin to understand.
Their hearts and minds carry burdens that I would not allow myself to imagine, I cannot even fathom because, in all honesty, I have lived a fairly “bruised” life.
There have been hang-ups, hiccups, hurry-ups, h_ll no’s, along the way, some unfortunate choices, and some major league, hall of fame worthy regrets.
However now, through it all, through divinely revealed 20/20 hindsight, I trust that without question, that I was always loved and forgiven and accepted too.
But some whom I speak of have never had the security I feel.
They don’t have “their people” who they can say with absolute certainty will always love them and stand by them as long as they are able.
They don’t know, without a doubt, that there is a God who loves them and will never leave them because no one in their life has truly modeled a love like that.
It’s because of them that thankfulness takes on a new meaning this year.
I can’t just give a blanket statement anymore.
I need to tell them and others exactly what I am thankful for and Who alone is responsible for every good thing in my life.
Because I can’t guarantee them family or friends who will always be there.
But I can guarantee them that there is a Savior who loves them and will never let them go.
And we, as Believers, can help introduce them to Him….the One a true heart of thankfulness comes from.
Here are 3 things to consider when you share Jesus, not only this Thanksgiving season, but throughout the year:
1. Talk to the Lord and proclaim His name out loud.
When Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead he said: “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” – John 11:41-42
Jesus didn’t need to talk to the Lord out loud.
He did it so those around Him would hear and recognize and acknowledge that this miracle came from God.
If He had not, they might have given credit to his human flesh.
It is our turn to acknowledge, out loud, publicly, for all to hear, where all of our thankfulness is due.
When we do that, when we claim the name of our Savior Jesus and share with others about all that He has done in our lives, it can’t help but resonate with those who might not know Him yet.
2. Remember to thank Him in the good and the bad.
If we can share thankfulness in the good things, awesome. But if we want to make even more of an impression… share thankfulness for the hard things too.
“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.” – Ecclesiastes 7:14
I am thankful for all of those times the Lord has brought me to my knees in tears because they humbled me. I am thankful for those health issues I’ve had recently because they’ve show me the stark limits of my humbled humanity.
When opportunities arise in everyday conversation, when we are sharing life with others, talk about the One who gives you life.
Say His name out loud for others to hear.
If others hear us talk about the Lord outside of church-away from the Christian setting where we are “supposed to”- it may mean more.
If we publicly show others that we think enough of Jesus to give Him all of the credit for our good days and trust Him to guide our steps in the hard things too, it may plant seeds that will grow in time.
3. Keep it simple and speak gently.
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” – 1 Peter 3:15
The majority of the people you talk to are not Bible scholars.
Many may have never even read one.
You don’t need fancy answers and highfalutin talk to impress anyone.
You just need to speak your heart, simply.
Go ahead and have an idea of what you would tell someone about the Lord and all He has done in your life, so that the next time you have an opportunity, you don’t back down because you feel unprepared.
Don’t believe the lies Satan may whisper in your ear, that you are not qualified enough to share about the Lord or that you are undeserving of that opportunity.
You are a child of the King and He wants you to share!
And finally, speak gently because you never know what someone has been through or what negative experiences they may have had with “church.”
Going Deeper with God – Living through Good and Bad
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/eat-this-book/
In Eat this Book, Eugene Peterson teaches us to chew on a passage of scripture, digest it and then put it to use in practical ways. Our early Christian fathers and mothers called this process Lectio Divina. Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 re- minds us that the life God breathed into us is replete with good and bad times and how to live through it all.
Ecclesiastes 7: 13-14 (NIV)
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
CHEWING
When I ran across Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 recently, I was struck by the concept of straightening what God has made “crooked.” First of all, what does it mean to say that God chose to make anything crooked rather than straight? In my reading about this concept I found a variety of possibilities:
- God makes our lives “crooked” at some point to prepare and train us for the role he has planned for us. Think of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David – the list goes on. (Rodelio Mallari, Sermon Central)
- Crooked things are the events of life that thwart our inclinations, the difficulties which meet us in life that we cannot alter (Pulpit Commentary).
- Crooked things are things that are uncomfortable or painful or do not work out the way we want (Lonnie Atwood, Cazenovia Park Baptist Church, Buffalo, NY).
- Our lives are made up of events which are “straight” – those that meet our expectations-and events which are “crooked” – which by their seeming inequality baffle our comprehension (Barnes Notes on the Bible).
And then there is the phrasing of Eugene Peterson in The Message:
Take good look at God’s work. Who could simplify and reduce Creation’s curves and angles to a plain straight line?
On a good day, enjoy yourself;
On a bad day, examine your conscience.
God arranges for both kinds of days
So that we won’t take anything for granted.
Peterson tells us that not only can we not understand God’s geometry, we can do nothing to change it.
We can only take the good days and the bad days as they come.
Perhaps God for some reason wants this crooked thing in my life to be crooked; who am I to bitterly complain about it?
Trying to argue about how and when and why both the good and bad days are apportioned in our lives (or in someone else’s) is not only foolhardy but also not our role.
We are not privy to how God works; we can only accept what comes and believe that it will all work out for our good.
DIGESTING
Try this experiment in soul training for at least two weeks – or a month if you can summon up the discipline:
- Put your favorite translation of Ecclesiastes 7:13–14 on a card or in your phone. Read it every morning.
- At the end of each day, use any of the definitions of “crooked” in the “Chewing” section above to help you find and list the crooked things that have surfaced in your life that day. Also include memories of crooked things that surfaced today unbidden.
- Note how you handled the crooked things. Did you complain? (I do – endlessly.) Did you get depressed? Did you doubt your ability or wisdom to handle them? Did you get mad at someone – yourself, someone in your life, a person whom you contacted to fix the crookedness? Did you pray about them? Compare those responses with those recommended in Ecclesiastes 13 -14.
- At the end of each week, journal about your experience with these verses. Or talk to a friend or family member. At the end of the month intentionally choose better ways to respond to your crooked things and begin implementing them.
- Once you have practiced this soul training and are comfortable with it, introduce it to your family or small group. Share with each other your responses and attitudes to crooked things in your life.
MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. The sorrow overwhelms us, makes us throw ourselves on the ground, faced down, and sweat drops of blood. Then we need to be reminded that our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy and that one day we will be able to taste the joy as fully as we now taste the sorrow” (Henri Nouwen, You are the Beloved).
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit …
Praying …..
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 New American Standard Bible
A Time for Everything
3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to [a]occupy themselves.
God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will [b]fear Him. 15 That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God [c]seeks what has passed by.
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.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 