Monday 18 Jun 2012

Monday Reading: Ecclesiastes 6:6

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 6:6
6  Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

Devotion:
The story of Job shows us just how down we can get about things when we think life is not going the way that it should, and Solomon certainly seemed to have a fair share of being down and dejected as well. So when he says that if we have not gained something from the time that we have lived then it should be the same as living many more times longer and still not obtaining anything from our lives. This is when people turn round and start counting all the physical and emotional things that they have or have not done – and if we are going to try to keep a count of those things then we may as well start out by saying that we have not achieved what we need to because that will probably be the conclusion we reach!

If we are going to compare what we have done with what others have done then we will always find fault in what we have not achieved because we always think that we should be able to do more than that which we have done. That is just the way that we think – we always have eyes bigger than our goals, or our dreams are so much higher than our lives. So it is little wonder then that people do get down about not being able to do all that they think they should be able to do…

What Solomon realised was that no matter what goals we aim for, no matter what we attain or do not get done, we are all going to end up in pretty much the same situation as those who have been able to do so many extraordinary things! We will die just the same as they die. The difference is going to be in our minds and what we think we should have done – and that is all it is going to be, in our minds. Yes it is going to be a very important thing for many people to be able to gain from life, but if we are only going to gain earthly things, then we are in for a bit of a shock when we find we lose it all when we die!

I hope that I have not made anyone feel down in the mouth about what they have or have not been able to do; instead I want you to think about things as they can be after we die, I want you to think about the glory that we shall see when we are set free from the world and all the earthly trappings we have grown to see. God is the One who is in control and He is the only One who can set our lives in ways that we cannot imagine. Let us then not be trapped by what we think we cannot do but instead look forward to what God can do for us when we trust in Him alone.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel let down by life?

Are you leaning on your Saviours everlasting arms?