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Ecclesiastes 10:1-12:14; II Corinthians 8:1-15; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 22:20-21
“Just as you don’t know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don’t know the work of God who makes everything…Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5, 10)
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them’; before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars and the clouds return after the rain; on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, and the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint.
Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for man is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (12:1-7)
“But beyond these, my son, be warned there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: Fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.” (12:12-14)
None of us will ever fully know and understand why God does what He does, nor will we get all of the processes He has to keep the world balanced. We can study and search for answers, but we must accept that God will never fit in a box. He is outside of time and space. Someone once said the galaxies are huge, the universe is so expansive to have not found other life forms. But what if our God is just that big. What if He dwells on the outskirts of the known universe and yet is still acquainted with all of our ways. Wow!
The preacher encourages us to not hang on to the sorrows of life because our prime years go by so quickly. He describes aging in the verses above and encourages people to seek God. There’s no need to waste a moment on regrets, on the things that should have been, trying to hang on to those who have gone and all of the “what ifs.” Work hard, play hard, serve and love God with all of your heart and entrust everything to Him. He is the beginning and end of all things.
PRAYER:
Father, help me to number my days, knowing that life is short. I don’t want to spend my life looking through the rearview mirror. I ask You to help me to put it all in Your hands, my victories, my mistakes, my loses, my gains, everything. My heart’s desire is to be all You have called and created me to be. I surrender myself to You and ask that You will use me as You see fit. I give You all of the glory, in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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