Living in Light of God’s Design - The Crook in Your Lot (Ecclesiastes 7:1-14)

(Hover over the link to read Ecclesiastes 7:1-14).

This morning, notice that mankind has an inability to discern what is best for himself (so God has to tell him what is best), and what God is doing. We must live according to God's design.

In the first part of this passage, Solomon contrasts what we think is better vs. what God things is better.

1. We want: the finest things life can offer. What is better: A good reputation and character, because that lasts beyond the grave. (Ecclesiastes 7:1)
2. We want: to celebrate and have a fun time. What is better: To face the reality of death, because you learn what is important in life. (Ecclesiastes 7:1-2)
3. We want: laughter. What is better: To have sorrow and frustration, because it agrees with reality. It lives in real life, not in denial. This is healthy, and allows you to deal with life in the right way! (Ecclesiastes 7:3)
4. We want: pleasure. What is better:mourning, because it makes you wise when you reflect on reality. (Ecclesiastes 7:4)
5. We want: to be flattered. What is better:to be rebuked, because can make you better. (Ecclesiastes 7:5)
6. We want: to laugh like a fool. What is better:to be wise, because laughter is futility. But, even the wise can be corrupted. (Ecclesiastes 7:6-7)
7. We want: to start many things. What is better:to finish things. Its exciting to begin things, but hard to finish them. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)
8. We want: to be proud, impatient and have what we want. What is better:to be patient of spirit, because that submits to what is really best rather than what you think is best. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

Solomon then contrasts the foolish and the wise:

Fools: are quick to anger, longs to live in the past, runs from adversitiy. (Ecclesiastes 7:9-10)

Wise: are slow to anger, handles money well to navigate the needs of the day, learns to live now. (Ecclesiastes 7:11-12)

The conclusion:

Man cannot resist God's providence (Ecclesiastes 7:13). Whatever God wants to do, God will do, and man cannot resist or question Him. It was God who made the situation crooked, or bent, and you can't fight against it.

We are all in a world that is evil, and evil comes for you (Ecclesiastes 9:12). There are apparent injustices that we cannot aright in this world (Ecclesiastes 8:14), where the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Asaph in Psalm 73:1-13 also had a problem with this, until he saw that God would ultimately right the injustice (Psalm 73:18-19)!

We can't look at what other people have and what they are doing. We have to look at our own lot, and what God would have us do with it.

The righteous are not exempt from trouble in a sin-cursed world. This trouble and injustice come from 1. the general effects of living in a fallen world, or 2. God may have put the trouble in your life to test you, discipline you, or accomplish a purpose, or 3. the effect of a specific sin from your life, bringing trouble upon yourself. But all this injustice serves ultimately to serve God's purposes.

What is the God's design for the adversity in your life? (Ecclesiastes 7:13 wants us to consider God's possible purpose for this.) Perhaps the design is to turn you from trivial pursuits to a serious pursuit of God, or to convince you of a false step or bad path that you have taken, to correct remaining  sin, to discipline you for a sin (Psalm 94:8-13), or to prevent you from sinning, or to show forth the power of God's grace in you.

Everyone knows what is most pleasant to themselves, but God knows what is better.

Application:

Be happy in times of prosperity, but when there is trouble, then consider (Ecclesiastes 7:14) that God has made both times of prosperity and trouble in your life. See it as God allowing the trouble and bringing the trouble: that's wisdom. Learn that God knows best, even though its not the path we'd normally choose.