Tuesday Reading: Ecclesiastes 8:14-17
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 8:14
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
Devotion:
How many times have we seen bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people; at least as seen through our eyes. But this is something that Solomon started to realise and something that we definitely need to remember. Just because we are Christians, just because we are acting properly, just because we are following the rules, it does not necessarily mean that good things will always happen back to us. Yes we are often told in God’s Word that we will be blessed if we continue to walk with God and do His will in our lives, but equally we are also told that we will also have to put up with the things of the world happening to us because we are living in this world…
There is no way that we will be able to escape a flood whilst the person standing next to us will be taken away by it. We would both be standing in the way of a natural disaster and hence will both have to put up with the consequences. No there may be a good reason why God would lead us away from that spot before the flood comes so that we may not get trapped by it, but that is going to be very different circumstances. God is just and He will not take things out on someone just because they have not listened this time and you have.
The crux of this should not be us seeking God’s blessings so that we can continue to feel good about following His will and His ways; we should be seeking to do His will and trusting Him that He will then set our lives in order according to His will. That may well mean that the unexpected will still happen to us. We should not require things of God just because we say that we are following His laws. We should be saying that we are willing to allow God to work His will in our lives because that is His choice. He is the one who is in control of this planet and all that happens. We are not to try and figure out what should happen just because we are saying that we are doing it right according to God’s Laws. When people try to convince me that I will have many good things happen to me just because I have done one thing right by God’s Law I begin to question the motive behind such sayings; God is just and will do what is right. We are the sinners who live in a world full of sin; should we expect things to go our way when we may well be the sinner doing things wrong tomorrow or the next day?
Points to Ponder:
How often do you examine yourself?
Do you know exactly what you will do next week?