A Testimony of Encouragement
I recently heard a dear brother share his testimony of the grace of God and the prayers of the saints that carried he and his wife through a great battle with cancer. His story of faith and grace reminded me of these thoughts.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the “world” in their heart,
How many times have I read over this verse and just passed quickly by without giving it any consideration. The text states HE “God” hath set the “world” in their heart. At face value this appears to be a contradiction. For we are told in the book of 1 John chapter 2:15-17 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
In 1 John the word “world” is in contradiction with the will of God. And then here in this text in Ecclesiastes, we are told that God hath set the world in their hearts. As you know the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. In 1 John the word “world” is not the physical earth, but rather a world system orchestrated by the god of this world who is Lucifer and he uses his principalities and powers of darkness to play upon: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, to bring deception into our lives so that we might be taken away from the will of God.
In Ecclesiastes 3:11, the word “world” is neither the physical earth, nor the spiritual kingdom of darkness designed to steal the hearts of men from the will of God. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, the word “world” indicates the world of eternity. God has placed within the soul of man a yearning for eternity, for everlasting life. Without this knowledge of eternity, we could not understand the ultimate purpose of God.
As we gaze out into the night sky and see stars shining like diamonds on black velvet, we say: there must be more, Oh so much more, and therefore, We seek to know the truth. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? One of the great texts of the Bible that we often times struggle with is Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
There are times in our lives when that is a hard verse to accept. When a loved one becomes very ill and suffers. When someone we love passes away, it is hard for us to believe in the all things of Romans 8:28. When tragedy strikes and it hurts so bad, we don’t want to hear that all things work together for good, because the pain of the moment is simply too great. We think in our hearts, how is it that they are gone? Is our divorce really final? We have lost our home, where will we stay? How will I ever get another job? In the midst of the pain, we must remind ourselves again of Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28-29 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
The good of Romans 8:28 is not the good of ease and comfort but rather the good of God’s will being accom-plished. You and I, who are sinners, are having the image of Jesus Christ restored back to our lives by the grace of God for the glory of God.
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek:
The meek are those individuals who are learning to count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Those who are learning to say with Jesus, “Father not my will but thine be done….” Ecclesiates 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God inhabits eternity and HE has promised to work all things together for our good and for HIS glory. There are often times when the daily issues of life appear to be most unpleasant, but from an eternal perspective, in God’s time, the perspective changes from painful to powerful.
There is a message of hope in my heart. God has placed eternity in my heart. And no matter what challenge I face, I have the rest of my life before me. We have our whole life ahead of us. And our life is eternal and it is with Christ. Imagine having your whole life ahead of you and spending it with Christ. Job is with Christ. Joseph is with Christ. Jeremiah the weeping prophet is with Christ. Daniel taken away into captivity and thrown into the lion’s den, he is with Christ. Stephen, who was stoned for his faith, is with Christ. Jewish tradition states of Peter that as he was being taken to be crucified, He cried out to his wife, “Remember Christ!” He is with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said that he was in afflictions and distresses, and “In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; BUT NOW HE IS WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
And I shall be with Christ and HE has promised that HE would spend the ceaseless ages of eternity revealing to me the exceeding riches of his grace. Beloved is eternity in your heart. From this moment forward, for the rest of my life, I will be with Christ. I am with Christ now and I shall be with HIM forever. Will your eternity be with Christ, or without him? God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Ecclesiates 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the “world” in their heart,
