Ecclesiastes Nine
"For I considered all this in my heart,
so that I could declare it all:
that the righteous and the wise and their works
are in the hand of God."
(Ecclesiastes 9:1a)
Morning Mediation: Read - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18
Solomon found that there are many mysterious in life that we just can't explain, and certainly even more about the Eternal God that will remain a mystery in this present life. In all his searching and experimenting Solomon determined it was best to stop seeking and start living. The Preacher had spent a lifetime of his wisdom and wealth diligently searching for the unknowable only to discover that there is so much that God has already made known to us that He desires we give our attention to. The things God has revealed to us about Himself in His Word are His gifts to us, and He expects us to study those nobler things and to enjoy them, and employ them to the satisfaction of our lives (Jeremiah 15:16).
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Rather than spend our time, money, and energy seeking after a way to find meaning and satisfaction in this life, God wants us to receive the gifts He has already freely given us that add meaning and satisfaction to our lives today and provide hope and joy for a future life with Him eternally.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Although all mankind
"share a common destiny" (v. 2a) - death - the believer knows a brighter future awaits him beyond the grave.
"This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all...but for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion" (v. 3a, 4). The Christian has a "living hope" in Jesus Christ, and can endure the difficulties and challenges of this present life with joyful expectation of an eternal home with God.
"But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, let you sorrow as other who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The Lord has promised us that,
"The last enemy that will be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Because we have this hope as believers we can endure and lay hold of the blessing the Lord has given us in this life and truly live.
"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:55-58).
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Do you believe this?"
(John 11:25-26)
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