A Life Lesson From Ecclesiastes

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

With the way things are going in the world, sometimes it’s hard to think of things as ever getting any better. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 explains there is a season and a time for everything that happens under the heavens. Though we pretty much know this, it’s not always easy to think of the hardships we’re facing as just a season or a time.

We’re all going through times of hardship these days. People are out of work, the economy is unstable, and many people are losing their homes. Arguments are rising about healthcare reform, taxes, and politics in general. People seem to be divided over just about everything, and no one is really sure where any of this is headed. With so much uncertainty in the air, fear can easily take hold of us and begin to control us.

We may find ourselves reading every news article we can find about the state of the economy, jobs, politics, and of course, the healthcare debate. We begin to talk to people incessantly about it, and we may even feel rage at the injustice we see in so many things. Pretty soon we begin thinking we must do everything we can do to stop it. It soon becomes all we think about, and though we may feel we are doing something useful by keeping up with things and speaking out, we need to be careful not to allow it to become an obsession. Obsession is a stronghold that binds us, and fear is what feeds it.

There is no need to fear. Our major focus during times of hardship should always be on God. We should never get so caught up in what’s happening around us, that we miss what He is trying to show us. Every trial and hardship we go through, whether individually, or even as a nation, is indeed, a “season and a time” even though it might not feel like it. It’s a time when God is trying to teach us something or make us stop and reflect on our actions. It’s a way for Him to draw attention to Himself when He sees us getting too absorbed in the things of the world.

No matter how bad things may seem to be, we can always be assured that every season and time has a “purpose under the heaven.”

God Still Has Hope For This World

Sometimes in the morning when I wake up and see the sun, I immediately think of the Son. Jesus is the light of the world and without Him we would be blind, groping around in the darkness with nothing to lead us or guide us. It would be the same way if the sun were suddenly to vanish. We would all be in the dark with no light to guide us.

When I see the sun shining, it makes me know God still has hope for this world. Every single day is another chance for us to acknowledge Him. He must have a lot of patience because He has given us so many days and so many chances. Yet so many people don't acknowledge Him at all. They just go about their everyday lives, oblivious to their Creator, and even to all the beauty He has given them. Most people hardly ever notice the beauty of a flower or a tree as they scurry past on their way to work or wherever they’re going. Everyone’s just too busy to give God a second thought.

People are even oblivious to the sun that gives them light every day to be able to do all the things that keeps them so busy. They just take it for granted. They probably don’t even realize how much they depend on it. Not only does it give us light, but it gives us warmth, and is essential for the growth of plants and every other living thing.

What if the sun were to suddenly vanish? We would not be able to survive. This whole world and everything in it would shrivel up and die. It is written that one day this will come to pass. That will be the day when there will be no more chances and the time to turn to God will be over forever. When people cry out to God at that time, it will be too late and He will say, "I never knew you."

Every day that the sun shines and lights up the world, God is giving us a reminder of His great love for us. This reminder is just as wonderful as the rainbow He sends after the rain. They are both an awesome tribute of His promise to never forsake us.

The next time you wake up and see the sun, think of the Son. Even as there would be no life here on earth without the sun, there would be no life here, or in eternity, without the Son.

What Causes Evil to Abound?

It seems like the whole world is going crazy these days and evil is escalating everywhere. There were other times in history when the world seemed to be out of control also, such as in the time of Noah. It is said that the world then was the epitome of evil. What is it that causes such evil to abound?

Maybe one of the reasons evil abounds is because when man is left to his own devices, he ultimately creates chaos. More and more today, people are renouncing God and trying to do away with anything pertaining to Him. They claim they don’t need anyone or anything telling them what to do and they can rely on themselves. What we’re seeing happening in the world today is simply the result of man relying on himself.

With laws permitting so much these days, man is gradually letting go of self control. It takes a lot of self control to do what’s right, but apparently, there’s no need for that any longer. We’re living in a “feel good” society where we make up the rules as we go along. If it feels good, it’s right. It doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t look at it the same way, because there’s no specific meaning for right and wrong any more. It all depends on the person.

The new norm of our society is to tolerate whatever anyone says or does, so we don’t offend anyone. We have no right to tell anyone what they’re doing is wrong or that we don’t agree, because what’s right to them has absolutely nothing to do with us. It doesn’t matter if what someone else is doing offends us, we just can’t offend them by telling them it does. None of this makes any sense to me, but apparently, it seems to make sense to a vast majority of people these days. In my opinion, this new self-ruling society man is so proud of creating is only taking us backward, not forward.

All I can picture in my mind are wild animals. Animals have no conscience or morals, they live for themselves, never giving any thought to whether or not they might be infringing on another’s space, they live by their own rules, and they never, ever hesitate to tear apart anyone who gets in their way. This is how the world is starting to look like to me.

But, we were not created to be like animals that rely solely on their instincts to do whatever benefits them. We were created with the intelligence and moral aptitude to live together harmoniously, have respect for one another and to care about each other’s feelings and well-being. We were born with the full knowledge of the costs of our actions and we know how to live accordingly.

Unfortunately, man has (once again) grown wise in his own deceit and is rejecting all these concepts. He thinks he knows better than God and he’s out to prove it. He’s too blind to see that his efforts are futile because without order and law, and a true value system, he is headed for doom. All we need to do is look around us and we can already see this self-ruled society is failing. Escalating crime, the bad economy, joblessness, wars, contention, unrest; everything we see going on in the world today are all signs of its failure.

As Christians, we may not be able to stop what’s happening to our society today, but we can rest assured that it’s already failing. Even though times are tough and even frightening at times, God is proving that the ways of the world cannot work. We must stay strong because we alone know how all of this is going to end.

Loving Your Enemies

The Bible says we are to love our enemies. There’s no way I could ever love my enemies if it were all left up to me. Sometimes I get so upset at people I want to wring their necks. It's only God’s hand on me that has stopped me from doing that. Every day I have to confess my real feelings to Him and ask Him to put His love there in its place because I just cannot do it on my own. It's quite a struggle.

There are so many times God has replaced my anger with His love and I never cease to be amazed at this. When I’m able to respond to someone who has hurt me or is yelling at me, with quiet words that are kind, it shocks even me. It’s like something super-natural has taken possession of my body. (Which is in fact, it has, God's holy Spirit.)

What's even more amazing is to see the other person’s reaction. There they are, yelling and acting crazy, obviously wanting a fight, and instead of getting a fight they get a soft answer. The look on their face is priceless! It’s one of utter confusion and they stand there for a moment like they’re wondering what to do next. Usually, they start yelling some more, and then end up stuttering and stomping out of the room. (I guess there really is something to that verse about "heaping coals.")

Sometimes we feel anger at the whole world. There’s so much evil out there and sometimes people are so smug and brazen. How is it possible to keep love in our hearts when people flaunt evil in our faces? One way to deal with it is to try to remember people who don’t have God in their lives really can't help being the way they are. They are submitting to an evil force and don’t even realize it. Just as we try to submit our will to God and allow Him to control our lives and actions, they are submitting to Satan who is controlling their lives and actions.

It’s a lot easier to allow Satan to have control than it is to allow God to because human nature is already evil. When a person rejects God, Satan immediately has complete control over them. All those people out there who believe they are their own gods and have complete control over their own bodies and minds are deceiving themselves in the worst way. They are under bondage and don't even know it. When Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do…” it's because they really don't know.

It's only through the Holy Spirit that we're even able to have compassion for and pray for our enemies. We should remind ourselves every day that if it wasn't for God, we would be just like the very people we find so hard to love.

Why Does It Seem God Abandons Us?

Someone hurt your feelings and you can't let it go. You sit there stewing and wondering how someone could do this to you. The whole world seems to be in turmoil right now and people everywhere are suffering. Where is God? Sometimes it's hard to think God is anywhere near or even cares. Why does He allow so much pain and suffering and why does it seem He's so far away?

One of the reasons God seems so far away is because Satan is able to get us to focus on ourselves. When someone hurts us we can't help but think of ourselves and our hurt feelings. It's easy to get angry and even a little vengeful and this is exactly what Satan wants. It's these kinds of thoughts and feelings that help build a gap between ourselves and God, and if we're not careful that gap will continue to get wider and wider.

Another thing that causes the gap to widen is when we get so wrapped up in things going on around us; we don't give Him a second thought. We're too busy with our jobs or our families, or whatever else is going on, and we just don't have time to think of anything else. When it comes to our problems, we seem to think we can solve them all by ourselves. Isn't it true we will drive ourselves crazy thinking of every possible solution, and try everything we can before we ever even think of turning to God for help? We usually only turn to Him out of frustration because we've exhausted every other avenue.

You would think we'd learn, after failing time and time again when left to our own devices, but we usually don't. Our human nature is like a magnet which constantly keeps drawing us back to ourselves and pulling us away from God. It's a daily struggle, and if we don't keep God first in our thoughts and actions, we're pulled far too easily back into the clutches of the world.

We need to slow down and set aside a time to talk to Him, and we need to listen to Him. He reminds us in His Word to "be still and know I am God." That's a reminder to us of the dire need to shut out the world, with all its noise and distractions, and just be still and be quiet. How else will we be able to hear Him speak to our hearts, giving us the direction and comfort we need in our trying times?

God is as near as you want Him to be, or as far as you push Him. Every single thing we say or do that interferes with our relationship to Him pushes Him farther away. We need to stop waiting until something goes wrong before we give Him our attention and talk to Him and listen to Him every day. The next time you wonder why He allows pain or why He wasn't there in times of trouble, just remember it's not He who abandons us, it's we who abandon Him.