Transitional Friday: Ecclesiastes 3: 18-22, The Purpose of Life

We are wrapping up our look at Ecclesiastes 3 and a season for all times.

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals—God tests us to show us that we have the beastly quality of animals and will prey upon others.

 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals—man is frail     ashes and dust

the same fate awaits them both—their existence is temporary

As one dies, so dies the other—all living, breathing animals {whether human or not} will died one day

All have the same breath—we all breath the same air

humans have no advantage over animals—we do not have long to live in righteousness and honor before God

Everything is meaningless—if we’re not living for God then it is all meaningless
 All go to the same place—life is fleeting and we all go to the same place

all come from dust—we came from dust ; Abraham asked in Genesis 18:27, “who am I but ashes and dust”  return to earth

and to dust all return—one day we will all return to dust; think about the burial ceremony, we say “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”
 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?—only God knows if the human spirit goes up and the animal spirit goes down.  Some may say if the saved goes to heaven and the unsaved goes into the earth.

So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work—God wants us to enjoy our work and to work hard

because that is their lot—because that is why He made us.  He has a purpose for ALL of our lives.
For who can bring them to see what will happen after them—only God knows the purpose for our lives, how we will touch others and what will happen in the afterlife.  He also knows the rewards this life will bring into the afterlife.

What is your purpose in life?

 

Tweetables:

The Purpose of Life

Transitional Friday: Ecclesiastes 3: 11-14, The Fear of the Lord

For the past two weeks we have been discussing God’s time and that there is a season for everything.

He has made everything beautiful in its time—think about how flowers are planted and in their own time become beautiful.  The same can be said for circumstances in our lives.    fear of Lord

He has also set eternity in the human heart—God wired us to long for eternity and to want the blessings only eternity can bring.  God made us for himself and we are emotionally wired to long for him.

yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end—we cannot begin to imagine the greatness of God and all that He has done and All that He will do.  He tells us that “my ways are not your ways.” We will never understand this until we are with Him and He reveals it to us.
 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy—God wants us to be happy.  when life is difficult this can be hard, but even in the most difficult times He wants us to be happy.

and to do good while they live—God wants us to do good while we are on this earth, this includes helping others.
 That each of them may eat and drink—we should eat and drink, but not in excess.  This is often a challenge.

and find satisfaction in all their toil—God wants us to find satisfaction in our hearts and our journey, even when we’re not at a place where we want to be.  Personally, this is something I’ve struggled with and have to continually pray about.gift from God

this is the gift of God—everything, even our hardships, are a gift from God
 I know that everything God does will endure forever—what God gives us and the lessons He teaches us through the good times, as well as through the hardships {more often through the hardships} will last forever.

nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it—God set the plan of life and no matter how hard we try, we cannot change or alter that plan.

God does it so that people will fear him—God wants us to fear Him.  We are told that  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” {Psalm 111:10}.  Once we begin to trust God’s wisdom, then we can begin to fear Him.

Do you fear the Lord?

 

Tweetables:

The Fear of the Lord 

Transitional Friday: Ecclesiastes 3: 6-10, God has a time and purpose for everything

Last week we began talking about the various seasons of life mentioned in the book of Ecclesiastes.   This week let’s take a look at the deep commitments and inner decisions that relate to the spirit and soul.  The two examples for each are opposites of one another. search

a time to search—there is a time when we need to search for what’s next in our life, whether it is a spouse, job, house, friendships, etc.

a time to give up—and there is also a time when these have served a purpose in our lives and we need to give these up.

a time to keep—there are some things we never need to give up, such as our morals and values

a time to throw away—sometimes there are things in our lives we need to throw away.  This can be our habits, resentments and attitudes, or physical items such as old clothing, out of date electronics or clearing out a room, attic or garage.

a time to tear—there is a time to cry or tear up, also to pull apartlove

a time to mend—there is a time to heal and bring back to gather

a time to be silent—we’ve all heard the adage that “silence is golden”; there are times when it is better to say nothing and to be silent

a time to speak—there are other times when we need to speak up and share, especially if there is something bringing harm to another person

a time to love—God is all about love and wants us to love others the way He would love them

a time to hate—we can often hate the actions of an individual or group, such as when John Newton {author of Amazing Grace} realized his lifestyle of selling slaves was wrong.  He changes his heart, hated the actions and fought to change the laws.

a time for war—there is a time when war is necessaryGods perfect timing

a time for peace—there is a time when war is not needed and we should embrace peace.

What do workers gain from their toil?—what do we gain from our efforts and hard work?  Is it worth it?
 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race—the choice God gives us in choosing the actions to take is a heavy one.  Often the lines may seem blurred and the best guidance is to seek God.

God has a time and purpose for everything.  We need to remember to seek Him through prayer and Bible study through these life altering decisions.

Which of these decisions has been a struggle for you?

 

Tweetables:

God has a time and purpose for everything

Transitional Friday: For Everything There Is A Season

In Ecclesiastes 3, we are told that for everything there is a season.  There are seasons of life that we love and seasons that we can’t wait to get finished with.  While we wait for the next transition, the waiting is often the most difficult aspect of our situation.  In our humanness we wonder what God is doing, why it’s taking so long and when He’ll be finished and life will be better.  At least, that’s what I wonder.

So what does God say about this.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven {v.1}: everything has a purpose under heaven.  God has ordained a season for each part of our life.  time to be born

A time to be born: at some point we were all born from our mother’s womb.

A time to die: one day we will all die.  You’ve heard the old saying the only two certainties in life are death and taxes.

A time to plant: in all of the waiting, we may be planting and sewing seeds.

A time to pluck up that which is planted {v.2}—eventually we will reap what we have planted.

A time to kill—we could take this literally, but it also can mean to end the things that aren’t good for us.  This could be a relationship, friendship, job situation or even selling a house.  Are there things in your life that are bringing you down or need to be left behind?

A time to heal—sometimes we just need to heal and work through the process of what we’ve dealt with.  This can be anything from a divorce, to losing a job, to damaged friendship or a sickness.

A time to break down—I’ve discovered the hard way that sometimes God needs to break us or situations in our lives to get us to the point we need to be so that he can build us back up.

A time to build up {v.3}—once we’ve been broken, God wants to build us back up. He wants to set us on the path He has in stores for us.

A time to weep—weeping is good for the soul, it releases the pent up emotions we keep buried.  I often cry easily, while I have family members that seldom cry.  I’m not saying one is right or wrong, I just know that I feel cleansed after a good cry.laughter

A time to laugh—laughter is good for the body.  After her heart attack, a friend had her doctor prescribe for her to laugh each day.  We all need to laugh more {at least I know I do}.

A time to mourn—we will all mourn at some point, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a friendship, a job, a relationship, our dream house, our independence or the pain over decisions our children are making there will be a point at which we mourn.

A time to dance {v.4}—God wants us to be joyful and to express our joy.  King David danced before God in the Old Testament.  Would you be willing to dance before God?

A time to cast stones—no one wants to have stones cast at them.  Sometimes we watch the media and are so thankful that we are not the one that has made a major mistake broadcast around the nation or world.  Also, this could go back to the passage that says, “we reap what we sew.” We could be casting out stones for a new job, to build a house, buy a car, etc.

A time to gather stones—often we want to call people out on something they’ve done wrong.  Just as we do not want to have stones cast on us, we need to tread carefully when we are gathering stones.  We need to check our facts, search our hearts and pray before accusing or confronting another individual.  Gathering stones also relates to showing passion or affection for people and events in our lives.

A time to embrace—there are moments when life gets difficult and we just need a hug and the reassurance that everything will be alright.  As stated above, at times we need to just accept that we are going through and that it cannot be changed at the moment.

A time to refrain from embracing {v. 5}—there are other situations when it is best to refrain from embracing someone, no matter how much comfort you long to provide.

What season of life are you in right now?  What seasons have you struggled with?

Next week: Ecclesiastes 3: 6-10

 

 

Tweetables:

For Everything There Is a Season

Probing the Seasons of Life mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3