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Gift of Life

Writer's picture: DeborahDeborah








Ecclesiastes 7:14 ESV

Ecclesiastes 7:14 ESV

Ecclesiastes 7:14 CEV

Ecclesiastes 7:14 TLB

Romans 8:28 ESV


I’ve long been convinced that all of life is fifty/fifty.


In other words Newton was totally correct about his third law of motion: “for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.”


I raised my kids using that principle.


I’d remind them, if you hit your brother, he will hit you back with equal force.


Long before Newton, wise King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”


The same verse in the Contemporary English Version (CEV) says, “When times are good, you should be cheerful; when times are bad, think about what it means. God makes them both to keep us from knowing what will happen next.”


The Living Bible (TLB) tells us, “Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.”


The Hebrew text closely was aligned with the English Standard Version which probably means that’s how Solomon spoke and thought. Literally what Solomon said was that man didn’t need to know what was to come.


In the end, in prosperity we thank God and in adversity we rely on God and we know God will use it to teach us; because everything comes from God.


The Apostle Paul (who would have studied Ecclesiastes at length growing up) tells us in Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”


That means both good and bad work for good. Realistically we know from experience that we actually learn more from the bad.


Think of it this way…when we have something really good happen we thank God for the blessing, right? Then we go on about of life enjoying the good.


But, this life is not all filled with only blessings. Generally speaking we don’t always learn and grow a lot from our blessings.


So for example, you’re going along and everything look good. You don’t have any foreseeable problems in your future. Wouldn’t that be great?


Well…maybe not absolutely great. That’s because when everything is great, you aren’t learning anything about yourself or others. You aren’t growing and while you may thank God for the good, you are going to be less likely to spend time on your knees talking to God about what you don’t understand.


Human nature tells us that when we are hurting we are more likely to turn to God for long periods of time. When we turn to God and deeply desire God we learn from spending time with God.


When things are difficult you are more likely to ask God about the uncertainty in your life. Often we ask God to teach us about what we do not know. A mature believer will be more inclined to want to know what God is preparing them for in the future. That’s because they have learned that God has a reason for this season. God uses everything for good…every time.


When difficult times come, we grow.


In the Living Bible Ecclesiastes 7:14 tells us that life is filled with uncertainty. When we study the Old Testament prophets we find that while they were given a piece to the puzzle they relied on God because they knew it was God who knows everything.


Thats the way it is…it’s that way so we will stay connected to the source of life.


God IS the source. God is life.


God is the giver of Life. When we turn to God we are refreshed. We are human and more than anything we need to connect to the source of life. Wise King Solomon knew what he was talking about…


The hard truth is when times are difficult we remember to turn to God, the giver of life.


Today’s Spiritual Practice is: The Gift of Life


Turn to God and let God refresh you and fill you with Life.


In God, Deborah

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About Me

I am a child of God. I can’t remember when God wasn’t part of my life. I served in a church setting for 30+ years and now I seek to help others see and find their sacred space. Daily when we turn to God we begin to recognize where God is at work in our lives.

 

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