False Confidence
Eccl. 9:12
“Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”
It's not the fastest that wins the race, nor the strongest than wins battle, nor the wisest farmer that necessarily gets the best crop, nor the brilliant that gets the most money. No one knows when death will occur.
Eric Clapton, a noted rock star, had faced heroin addiction and the pain of shattered relationships with wives and other women. Finally, he seemed to have found peace and maturity as a parent, but he wrote ‘Tears in Heaven’ after the accidental death of his 4-year-old son who fell from a 53rd floor NYC apartment in 1991. His song was named record of the year and song of the year at 35th annual Grammy Awards. He sang, "Time can bring you down. Time can bend your knees. Time can break your heart, have you beggin' please. Beyond the door there's peace, I'm sure. And I know, there'll be no more tears in heaven."
Pop-culture expert Bob DeMoss said, "Clapton knows that there's peace on the other side, if only he could bring himself to ask for forgiveness. It's evident that he's so close, yet so far."
There are times when people say, I do not understand this world. I cannot make sense out of my life. Things don't always turn out they way we think they should. We face losses, failures, disappointments, and difficulties of all sorts.
We live in a world where too often dreams are shattered, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream. We live in a world where people we love disappoint us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love. We live in a world where our jobs may not be secure, but that doesn’t mean we don’t do our best in our work. We live in an unsecure world but that does not mean we quit or give up.
I applaud those whose homes have been devastated by tornados, earthquakes, or floods and in tears say, “ I have lost everything, but will build again. We have not lost lives and things can be replaced.”
There are both warnings in the Bible: to not put too much stock in things over which we have no control and we make wiser decisions, as we assess as carefully as we can, our present plans to make decisions that affect our future. The wise man who built bigger barns was anticipating living a long life (Retirement is not a bad thing to plan.), but all his riches were placed in those dreams to the neglect of his eternal and spiritual life. The man who was going to build a house was wise if he first considered all he needed before the house was built and the type of foundation needed to withstand future storms.
It is wise to plan for the future, but not put all our trust in things that pass away. If your whole life and love is devoted to anything of this world, it will be lost some day and then what will you do? The only thing absolutely secure is our relationship with Jesus and that isn’t without its struggles on earth.
Keep looking up.
