“We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are.” G.K. Chesterton
Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:8-9 NLT
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to
die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NLT
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Ecclesiastes 3:9-10 NLT
4 TRUTHS WE MUST GRASP
1. GOD’S PLAN IS WISE
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart… Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
2. GOD’S PLAN IS ALSO MYSTERIOUS
…but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry. Jeremiah 15:18 NLT
3. WE MUST ENJOY OUR PRESENT LIFE EVEN WHEN WE DON’T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS.
So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 NLT
4. REST IN GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. Ecclesiastes 3:14 NLT
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. Luke 3:21-22 NIV
“We were built to count, as water is made to run downhill. We are placed in a specific context to count in ways no one else does. That is our identity.” Dallas Willard
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! Psalms 139:15-17 NLT