The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Category: Lent

March 14, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10 (click here)
The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. 14 A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? (Ecclesiastes 10:12-14)

Reflection
A proverb is a shorty, pithy saying that is meant to express a general truth for life. Of course there are exceptions, but a proverb points you toward wise living. Solomon passed on much of his wisdom through proverbs and there have been a few already stated throughout Ecclesiastes and chapter 10 is full of them.

Among all his wise advice, Solomon warns us about the power and powerlessness of our words. What we say has the power to create and destroy relationships…the power to build up or to tear down…the power to affirm or deny. Our words are powerful.

Yet, for all our wise words we must admit that at the end of the day our knowledge is dashed against the rock of God’s sovereignty. We cannot really predict anything that will “be after us.” The more we try to espouse wisdom about life, the more we are shown to be fools who aren’t really in control. For all our wise words, we ultimately find that they are powerless to control anything. Our words are powerless.

This is why true wisdom…truly wise words…point us to trust the one who is in control. No matter what happens, the one who is truly wise will speak of the trustworthiness of the Lord and trust in his word! His word is never powerless…it is always powerful and permanent.


*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 13, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 9

Ecclesiastes 9 (click here)
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

Reflection
Why are we surprised when evil, suffering, and pain come upon us? Why do we all fall prey to the false notion “that could never happen to me…”? We clearly see that this world is broken and full of suffering, but somehow we continue to think that we are immune so that when suffering comes we are as surprised as a bird caught in a snare.

This self-deception runs deeper than simply thinking suffering will not come for us…the root lie we actually tell ourselves is this, “I am in control.” Through pursuing health, wealth, knowledge, power, beauty, popularity, etc we find a false sense of security as if any of these things put us in a position to control our lives.

Yet, if we do what Solomon does…step back and observe the world…we see that suffering is no respecter of persons. Pain and death come for the righteous and unrighteous, the wealthy and poor, the healthy and unhealthy, the wise and the foolish. Nothing under the sun provides any kind of permanent promise.  If we are honest, when we look to ourselves and all that we possess…there is nothing in which to put our faith.

That is why we must look away from ourselves. We may not know our time or what suffering is headed our way, but we can trust the one who does…God. We can trust his promises that he is with us amidst all our suffering and will bring us through it all into eternal joy-filled rest in himself. He is the only one that can make permanent promises…so he is the only one in whom we place our faith.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 12, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes 8 (click here)
Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. (Ecclesiastes 8:10-13)

Reflection
Perspective changes everything. Solomon often speaks of the injustice in all he observes “under the sun.” Many times, the wicked seem to enjoy the “rewards” of life while the righteous suffer. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Doesn’t this make pursuing righteousness vanity?

It would…if “under the sun” was the only perspective from which to view the world. However, Solomon is able to step back and somewhat view things from God’s perspective…an eternal perspective. From the vantage point of eternity he sees that it will be well with those who fear God…and for those who don’t fear God…well…let’s just say it “won’t be well.”

God is just and his justice enables us to live in peace amidst a world of seeming injustice. We can bless when we’re cursed, forgive when we’re wronged, worship amidst suffering…because we know that God will set all things right. We know that what happens under the sun is not the end, but that God will bring all to account when our days under the sun are done. He is just, and this frees us to live lives of love and forgiveness.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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