2 “It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher. Life is useless, all useless. 3 You spend your life working, laboring, and what do you have to show for it?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 GNT) I wonder how many of us can feel like the Philosopher in Ecclesiastes at times. We think things like… We work our life away just to die in the end. Rich or poor we all die in the end. What’s the point of being rich if when we die we leave it to someone that hasn’t worked for it? Whether we are wise or foolish we all die in the end. 22 “You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it? 23 As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can’t rest. It is all useless.” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 GNT)
The fact that this book is in the Bible shows us that even if we are pessimistic, God is still there for us. If you can say you’ve never worried or thought negatively then that’s a lie. The Philosopher had it all, he was rich, had wisdom and anything he wanted he got. However, that didn’t stop him from thinking life was useless. It doesn’t matter if we are rich, middle class, or poor these thoughts can still show up. It doesn’t matter how much stuff you gain in life, in the end we can’t take it with us. The Philosopher realized, “The best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have earned. But still to realize that even this comes from God.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24 GNT) He had such pessimism but one thing for sure is that He never forgot God is the controller of everything.
1 “Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses. 2 He sets the time for birth and the time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up, 3 the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building. 4 He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing, 5 the time for making love and the time for not making love, the time for kissing and the time for not kissing. 6 He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away, 7 the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk. 8 He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 GNT)
The Philosopher did not understand God’s ways. Yet, he always reminded us to enjoy what God has given us because it is a gift. Here is an example of an imperfect man that God still chose to bless. We will never be perfect because we are human. Jesus was flesh at one point and knows the temptations we can face. However, we will never understand God’s ways because God doesn’t think like us. God knows what is best for us before we do. God already knows the beginning and the end. All we can do is trust Him and take it day by day and learn from what we have already experienced. God is God. “Everything God does will last forever. You can’t add anything to it or take anything away from it. And one thing God does is to make us stand in awe of him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14 GNT)
GOoD Days 