It’s been quite the start to this 2025 year. A presidential change, the fires in LA, the plane crash in DC this week…and it’s only January. I’m reminded of a verse in Ecclesiastes chapter seven.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 NLT
Solomon’s Observation
Solomon observes that nothing is certain in this life. That feels like a really bleak way of looking at things. We almost feel like we should throw our hands up in the air and give up. Why even bother?
But to understand the full context, we have to look at the beginning of this verse and the verse that comes before.
Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked? Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.Ecclesiastes:13,14 NLT
The Uncertainty of Life
The uncertainty of life is a very real thing. Solomon understood that. He grew up under the reign of David, his father, in a tumultuous time in Israel’s history. His dad was a man of war. Solomon understood war; he understood threats against the kingdom, against his father. He had first-hand knowledge of living in uncertainty. So when he tells us that nothing is certain in this life; he knew that truth himself. He’d lived it.
Acceptance
Solomon teaches us that there is a way to live in spite of this uncertainty in life. It’s called acceptance. Webster’s Dictionary gives a few different definitions of the word acceptance.
1. To receive willingly.
2. To endure without protest or reaction.
We can put those definitions back into the verse, and here’s what we get.
1. Receive willingly the way God does things…
2. Endure without protest or reaction the way God does things…
The Answer to the Uncertainty of Life
The answer to uncertainty in life is to accept the way God does things. We will never understand an infinite God with our finite minds. Consequently, we won’t understand why he does what he does. And that’s okay because he doesn’t ask us to understand; he asks us to accept it.
I love the next verse from Solomon. After we learn to accept the way God does things, Solomon tells us to enjoy prosperity when it comes. When blessings come your way, revel in them; savor them. Remember that we serve a good God that loves to give good gifts.
Find the Good
Solomon adds a caution at the end of the verse. He reminds us that hard times will also come. But when they do, we can choose to accept them and remember that both prosperous times and hard times come from God.
Instead of clinging to uncertainty, find the blessings that God is bestowing on you right now. Look for the good and enjoy it; soak it in. Love on your family, enjoy the income God has provided, travel and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation, get a coffee with a good friend, spend time each morning with God in a morning time routine. Find the good that’s all around you; celebrate that good. Draw close to the One who’s given you those good things. Remember that our relationship with God is more important than anything else.
When we choose to accept His plans and look for the good, we will find ourselves better able to navigate the uncertainty of this world.
More Encouragement
For more encouragement, check my post, 3 Ways to Remember God’s Goodness When We Forget.
