TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race…He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9,11
Read: Ecclesiastes 3:9-13
Listen: Ecclesiastes 3
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Looking back, the poet believes God is doing something through the various seasons of life. He knows God is active from “beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). But the problem is that while God is active in every season of life, the poet doesn’t know what God is doing or how it fits together. He describes it as, “…no one can fathom what God has done…” The poet wants to know and thinks he needs to know. But he just can’t.
It’s like the old saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” More often than not, we agree with this saying even if we often don’t know what that reason is. It’s like a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle emptied on a table. We can pick up one piece and see something, but it’s not close to the entire picture. Even when we snap 3 or 4 pieces together, we’re still a long way off to figuring out the complete picture.
The same thing happens when life’s tragedies hit. We’ve got one “piece,” but we’re not close to understanding what God is doing. In our pain and suffering, we might be able to put 3 or 4 pieces together, but not have a clue to God’s complete picture. We often know God is up to something good even if we don’t know what it could possibly be. We want to know. We just don’t. And this can be a huge burden to carry.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Identify the one “piece” from the puzzle of your life that’s in your hand right now. While you may not have any idea what God is doing, he is doing something good (if you need to be convinced, start at Psalm 100:5). To trust God when all you have is one piece, pray a prayer like this one, “Loving Father, all I have is one piece in this puzzle of ______________________. Help me to trust in you, your goodness and your work in my life. I know I can’t do it on my own. Thank you, in Jesus name.”
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
