Unpredictability Needs Stability
Eccl 9:16-18
“So I said, ‘Wisdom is better than strength.’ But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”
We can try to prepare for the unexpected. We do not know the future. Some people live paranoid lives thinking bad things will happen to them and their worries overwhelm them. There are so many things in life over which we have no control, however, there are wise ways to live. To ignore good advice is to risk greater peril. God gives wisdom sometimes through people we least expect. Those who shout the loudest are not always the wisest and yet one sinner can destroy much good.
Giving good advice and applying wisdom was the purpose of Solomon’s other book- the book of Proverbs. Wisdom will guide us in making better decisions that in the long run protects us from major disappointments and allows for greater security.
A person can save for a rainy day and find that savings destroyed, but it is still wiser to have some savings. A person can prevent lots of health problems by eating properly and exercising, but the mortality rate is 100%. Even healthy people die young.
There is one thing for sure - we do not know what the future can hold as far as this world is concerned. Only what God's Word reveals what will happen. Do you know it predicts our world will be destroyed? There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Do you know it predicts a world-wide economic crisis? There are treasures in heaven than cannot be taken away. Do you know Jesus is coming again? Some will be taken and others will be left behind. We know how to prepare for that.
do not know why Peter was miraculously released from prison and Stephen was stoned to death as a martyr. I don't know why some person can be spared death from an accident, but another is killed in one. I do not know why God answers the prayers of family member in his 70’s to come out of a coma, and a young couple lost their child to leukemia even after much prayer. I do not know why some missionaries are slaughtered and others miraculously released. I do not know why evil people are sometimes rewarded in their dishonesty and honest people suffer because of their commitment to godly morals.
In spite of what this world calls success, if you are out of God's will, there is no true success and happiness and, if you are in the center of God will, there is no true failure. Can you walk by faith and not by sight and ask "Though, I do not understand, yet will I trust in the one who died for me?"
There is the unpredictability of our days and the future, but there is One who came, Jesus Christ, who gave us hope. He said, “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Can you believe that even when the days are the darkest? Christ is our hope in our uncertain world and in our certain death! There are no surprises to Him.
Let Him be your stability in these unpredictable days.
Prayer- Lord, help me that I may I live by faith and not fear. Help me to trust in the truth you have revealed. Amen
