Day 59: Ecclesiastes 11:1-62 min read

“You do not know the works of God who makes everything.”

I like to take the conservative approach to making decisions. I don’t like to do anything that I think might flop. Failure is not my friend, so I try not to spend time with it.

Now, success? Ah yes…there’s something I like to enjoy. I like guaranteed success.

But life is not that simple. Not everything is guaranteed, whether failure or success. More often than not, the greatest successes are those things that present the possibility of failure. Why? Because God is in control and His methods of accomplishing things are different than mine.

Well, this passage is a good reminder to step out on faith and do those things that are necessary for success even though there is a chance of failure. After all, if I don’t even try, success is not even a possibility! Reaping good things is not even an option anymore!

No, this is not an exhortation to gamble or be irresponsible and do those things that have a high rate of failure. Rather, it is saying that those who never step out on faith will never reap any rewards. In fact, it even mentions the importance of doing things the safe way and having a back-up plan: “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.”

The farmer who waits for the perfect planting conditions will never harvest a crop. But if he still plants the crop, he at least has a chance of it producing.

Overall, trust God to bring about His success because He is sovereign, and He promises good things to those who are good stewards of what He has given them.

He who observes the wind will not sow,
He who regards the clouds will not reap.
He will stay idle and wait till the snow,
Then realize too late he has nothing to keep.

Fearful of failure, he withheld his hand,
Rather than using his hands to till.
Oh, if he only trusted God with his land,
He would have something his stomach to fill.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *