Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash
I saw something else under the sun: There is wickedness where justice should be found. There is wickedness where righteousness should be found.
I thought to myself, “God will judge righteous people as well as wicked people, because there is a specific time for every activity and every work that is done.” (Eccl 3:16-17 GW) [context– Eccl 3:16-22]
Enduring difficult times
Evil and turmoil are difficult to endure. When we see it or are in the middle of it, all sorts of emotions are stirred up. We may find ourselves going from anger to fear and from sadness to nostalgia.
At some point, we stop asking why. We just want it to end. But it doesn’t just stop. A quick look at history reveals decades-long reigns of terror and times of turmoil.
How can any of us endure such times?
We have to maintain a sense of perspective. We need to choose the long view over the immediate. But how does a person do this?
Sometimes the long view of perspective requires us to look back at what God has done in our lives and how God has dealt with wrong and wickedness in the past. In other words, we need to learn from history.
One of my favorite reminders to help me do this is what King David did when tragedy struck the camp of his army of rag-tag men. The Amalekites raided David’s camp while he and his men were in Ziklag doing their own raiding.
Because their wives and children were taken captive, the embittered men talked of stoning their leader, David. What did David do?
…David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (1 Sam 30:6c NKJV)
David remembered God’s faithfulness throughout his life and he was encouraged and strengthened in his spirit. Just read through the Psalms for more insight into the Lord’s faithfulness to David.
Israel’s history reveals a clear narrative of God’s faithfulness and of His merciful and gracious nature towards a people who were unfaithful to Him much of the time.
Even when prophets warned of impending judgment because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, their warning included an invitation to return to the Lord and of a promise of restoration when they did (Mal 3:7).
Insights
As Solomon returns to his lament of life “under the sun,” he sees justice and righteousness perverted by wickedness. What is right and just and good is upended by people who instead choose what is wrong and evil.
Although this may happen at a simple level among petty thieves, widespread corruption is not expected so much from people in places of authority and responsibility.
But Solomon is reminded of the longer view. God is the final judge of all. He works His purposes within His timing to set things in their right order.
God is the One who will turn what is upside down right side up.
When people corrupt justice and pervert moral goodness, they live at a basic animal-like level. They aren’t guided by their conscience but driven by animal-like instincts and desires.
Death is a certainty for all life on this earth. As Solomon reflects—All life goes to the same place. All life comes from the ground, and all of it goes back to the ground. (Eccl 3:20 GW) Although Solomon doesn’t speak of a resurrection from the dead, he hints at in verse 21.
It is only by a relationship with the Lord Jesus—who is the resurrection Himself—that we have hope for our own resurrection from the dead beyond this life (John 11:25).
And so, Solomon summarizes his thoughts on all he says in Chapter 3 this way—
So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? (Eccl 3:22 NKJV)
God holds the future in His hands. Ours included. What we can do is be content with the life and work God gives us to do as we live by faith, trusting in Him.
Existential Reflections
Perhaps, you might wonder, How can we be content when things are in turmoil and corruption and evil prevail? It’s not logical and flies in the face of reason! This is where the long view of perspective is valuable.
We can be content and confident in the future when we have genuine faith.
God is consistent and faithful. He doesn’t change with the cycles and seasons of life under the sun. He is trustworthy. We can be confident of His watchful care over our lives when our trust is in Him.
Things beyond our control are simply that—beyond our control. But they’re not beyond God’s control. He is sovereign—the ultimate authority over all.
When we choose to place our lives in His hands on a daily basis, we can be content and confident.
We may not know what the future holds but as many have said before—we know the One who holds the future in His hands.
So, it is wisdom on our part to put our life in God’s hands. We do this by faith. We trust in His sovereignty—His authority over all things and all people. As I shared before, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
When we are not worried about tomorrow, we can be thankful for our life today. We can take joy in whatever work God gives us to do.
Unlike Solomon’s reflections on life and death, those who trust in God by faith can look beyond this life with a living hope (I Peter 1:3). Followers of Jesus have the assurance of a resurrection from the dead because of His resurrection (1 Cor 15:16-20).
We can entrust our concerns for today, all our tomorrows, even eternity to God when we choose the long view of faith in the Lord.
Are you angry, fearful, or worried about the presence of evil and turmoil?
Are you concerned about the future, even your own?
If you choose to hold the long view of faith, it will help you put today, tomorrow, and eternity in the right perspective.
This is an excerpt from my newest book available on Amazon! Glimmers of Light in the Darkness of Life
The Scripture text for this devotional study can be found by clicking the blue button link– “Ecclesiastes Chap 3” [I’ve used God’s Word Translation (GW) for ease of reading but the button link will take you to the text in a parallel version with the NKJV text.]
Also, for further commentary, I recommend Enduring Word by Ptr David Guzik.
