The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

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March 15, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 11

Ecclesiastes 11 (click here)
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

Reflection
All of life is SEEMINGLY vanity…but this is only how things seem as long as our gaze falls only on that which is “under the sun” and God is left completely out of the equation. However, when we know God and know that he will bring all things into judgment…all of a sudden EVERY act become eternally meaningful.

How should we think of this “judgment of God”? Should this frighten us so that we live our lives like slaves under a relentless task master…seeking to serve his every whim. Solomon seems to suggest something very different than that scenario.

He begins with the word “rejoice!” The fact that God is judge should bring us to proper enjoyment of all things. We know that God created all things good (including us) and invited mankind into eternal enjoyment of him. All of creation was to be enjoyed as a gift that ultimately pointed us back to the giver.

Solomon says that this is the kind of joy we seek. Not a joy in the mere gifts we find under the sun with no reference to God, but a joy that through these gifts points us to God! Enjoy all these things, but in such a way that you know God brings all things into judgment! Enjoy them in such a way that leads you back to God. That is the purpose for which all things were created and when enjoyed that way “God as judge” is not bad news…it is good news, for we will be judged as faithful ones who enjoyed him and spread the joy of him to the world.


*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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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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