Ecclesiastes 1 -- Dread Turned Into Hope

When I saw that this book was next in line, my initial reaction was, “Oh great … days of listening to Solomon whine about life.”  “Under the sun” and “all is vanity” repeated over and over – it just gets old.  But my commentary said something that gave me a different outlook:  “Solomon wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (12:10-11; 2 Tim. 3:16), so what he wrote was what God wanted His people to hear.”  This wasn’t just Solomon’s boredom talking.  God has a message for me in it.

The monotony Solomon found in life existed because he only looked at life “under the sun” – from a human perspective and not from heaven’s point of view.  The dissatisfaction is there because “God has put eternity in our hearts and nobody can find peace and satisfaction apart from Him … The eye cannot be satisfied until it sees the hand of God, and the ear cannot be satisfied until it hears the voice of God,” my commentary said.

Our wisdom is often a curse, because it leaves us unfulfilled and that goes right back to Eve’s choice to sin in the Garden of Eden.  Solomon, supposedly the wisest man ever, noted here that:

11)      Life is tough, but it is a gift from God;

22)      Life doesn’t get easier if you try to run away from it;

33)      Not everything can be changed;

44)      Wisdom and experience will not solve every problem.

Something in that #3 in my commentary really stood out this morning:  “Solomon is saying, ‘The past can’t always be changed, and it is foolish to fret over what you might have done’ … We must remind ourselves that God has the power to straighten out what is twisted and supply what is lacking.  He will not change the past, but He can change the way the past affects us.  For the lost sinner, the past is a heavy anchor that drags him down; but for the child of God, the past – even with its sins and mistakes – is a rudder that guides him forward.  Faith makes the difference.”

Father, this life never makes sense unless we consider You.  You alone have the ability and power to step in and change the whole situation, and often you do in response to our prayers.  I know what I read here today is true and that it is from You.  You gave life meaning for me when You began to show me how intimately involved You are in my life.  Please keep me focused on You, seeing You at work minute by minute in my life.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford