It's not easy trying to understand
How the world can be so cold, stealing the souls of man
How the world can be so cold, stealing the souls of man
Cloudy skies rain down on all your dreams
You wrestle with the fear and doubt
Sometimes it's hard but you gotta believe
There's a better place, where our Father waits
And every tear He'll wipe away
The darkness will be gone,the weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day, there will come a day
Wars are raging, lives are scattered
Innocence is lost, and hopes are shattered
The old are forgotten, the children are forsaken
In this world we're living in
Is there anything sacred?
There will come a day, there will come a day
The song will ring out, down those golden streets
The voices of earth with the angels will sing
Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
There will come a day, there will come a day
Yesterday, I told Joanna, "hmmm ... not really feeling Ecclesiates. Maybe its just because its a no brainer. I get it. I agree. There is no meaning in this life apart from God. Maybe I'll go back and start reading Joshua and hang out with the Israelites again," but then, I read chapter 3 and I thought I was gonna be late for work ... or have to go in my robe because it got me right where I am. Let me tell you about it!
Eccl. 1 and 2 basically sum up Solomon's findings. The only way to find meaning in this life is to find it in God. Got it. Good! But Solomon goes on for the next ten chapters because he realizes what we might not yet see, that our problem is not living without God, its living WITH God, the age old quest to understand why bad things happen to us when we are loving and living for God. Ooooohhhh, yeh, that.
God is good. Evil exists. God is in control, but He doesn't always make sense. There is a time appointed for everything - to be born, to be loved, to be sick, to be rejected, to succeed, to fail, to mourn, to dance, to sing, to wail, to build, to take it all away.
Tommy Nelson gives four platforms from the truths of Solomon on which to stand when we don't understand:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Eccl 3:11-14
1. God is wise.
We know that with our heads, but I think all the time that He must need my help, so I end up treating Him like He's NOT! One of my favorite quotes is from a song that says, "when you don't understand, when you can't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."
2. God's plan is not only wise, but mysterious.
I have long conceded that God alone sees the finished puzzle - not only of our lives but of how our lives fit into His bigger plan as well. In our limited sight, we see three pieces fitting together and think we know what He is doing ... only to find out that our three pieces don't even fit into that side of the puzzle. It's all about perspective. Basically, He has the eternal perspective ... we don't! But I love what T.N says in the study, "God has one plan from beginning to end. He doesn't react to the devil's activities as if a cosmic tennis match is being played ..." He may be mysterious, but He's not punting! And the questions we ask ... the whys and the what are you doings ... it's because God has placed eternity in our hearts and we are searching for that intrinsic meaning and purpose we know MUST be there somewhere.
3. THIS is my favorite! Even when we don't understand everything God is doing, we cannot let what we cannot know destroy what we CAN enjoy! Amen!
I'm NOT God! There, I said it. I cannot control my circumstances ... cause if I could, well, some things would be different around here (and for you, too!)! :-) In light of that, we can be cynical or jaded that life is not going according to our plan or we can LIVE it. Tommy says, go out and get your double dip of ice cream and enjoy it with friends. I say, drink all the diet coke your heart desires and laugh a lot! Just like yesterday, you have one life. Be PRESENT for today! Hang out with friends, take those dance lessons, shoot those (you thought I was gonna say guns!!) pictures, go for that run, call that old friend, paint that picture, have that company, go on that trip. LIVE!!
4. Rest in the sovereignty of God.
We tend to treat sovereignty like something kind of scary, something maybe even kind of bad. It's what we attach to the explanation for everything bad that touches our life. But that's not the intent. The fact that God is in perfect control means He is not weak. It should bring comfort that whatever is happening is not apart from the knowledge, plan, and character of a God who loves us, is all-powerful, and all-knowing. I forget those things about Him sometimes. When I camp out in the New Testament for a long time, I come to characterize God mostly by His love, grace and mercy. My recent travels in the Old Testament have reminded me of His justice and fairness, His power and His wisdom. He is all of that and more. And He is not surprised. He is not on plan B. He is in control of even this.
Because you see ...
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.
(Eccl. 3:15)
Let me quote Tommy because this is too good to mess up ...
Everything that is happening now has been decreed in the past. Everything in the future will happen according to plan. And God seeks or fulfills what is lost from a human point of view. In other words, in God's wise arrangement of events, He can call back (seek) the past and connect it with the future. When He seeks what has past by ... that's when we have our aha! moment and thank Him for His wisdom we could not see.
God doesn't promise that we're going to understand all of the bad things that have happened ... why those who went to serve were killed among the other innocents in Haiti, why someone young is taken home to Him while her children are left to grow up without a mother. Why babies are born into horrible homes, while couples with enough love for ten children have none. He doesn't explain away our deepest hurts or hugest misunderstandings. He doesn't give us a reason for why someone we love can not only reject us but stomp on our heart. He doesn't have to. He has given us enough promises to trust Him. He's proven Himself trustworthy. The greatest injustice ever done (the sinless One bearing the sins of the undeserving, sometimes unappreciative world) ... became the most beautiful thing ever done. THAT'S the God we trust!
So, I'm going to enjoy today ... go walk my three miles, drink my diet coke, and lay in bed and read. And trust the heart of the one who holds mine for all I don't understand.
1 comment:
oh I love this! Thanks so much for sharing - its just what I needed to hear today!
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