Devotions from Pastor Ben:
Trivia:
Here's a difficult one. Let's see if you can finish the lyric: “Is this the real life? / Is this just ___?” Fantasy, Agony, Gravity, Insanity. Make a guess, about what word you think is next. Hint: This is from a group with a musical term in its name. Let's see who can guess the right word.
Challenge:
Ecclesiastes 7:10
"Don’t long for 'the good old days.' This is not wise."
Solomon is warning us of another foolish activity: living in the past. You may be asking, "Why is this such a dangerous activity?" He is laying out just why this is harmful because when we constantly harp on “the good old days” and wish they would return because they were so much better, we are living in a world of unreality / fantasy.
He is telling us that it is better to face conditions as they really are now and live triumphantly through them in spite of the adversity of the day. Or as the saying goes, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
That is because living in the past is ignoring both the challenges, as well as, the blessings of the present. For it is much easier to live looking back, however, we are then prone to lose focus and fail to experience all of the blessings in the present.
You see, the temptation to glorify the past at the expense of failing to meet the challenges of the present must be resisted. The pleasures or advantages of those days are prone to be more imaginary than real. Have you ever told your children, or grandchildren of stories in your past and been prone to glorify those experiences? I don't know about you, but some of the realities of past times weren't as great as we may remember them to be.
For instance, getting lost without Google to find your way back home! Remember the confusing map books where you had to find which page was the right location to continue driving? Or, how about when hanging out the clothes on a clothes line to dry, only for a bird to drop his duty in the middle of that clean white shirt? How about picking out a movie at the rental store then going home, popping popcorn, sitting down to watch it only to find that the tape had been damaged? And then, of course there was the experience of forgetting to take the video back and facing a charge greater than the value of buying the tape in the first place! Well, so much for the struggles of living in the past!
Here's another kick to focus on. Only a generation or two ago, people worked seventeen hours a day in some cases, six days a week for forty cents an hour. Disease was rampant and medical care was scarce. It wasn't all just "Little House on the Prairie," so think twice before you long for yesteryear.
Solomon is reminding us of several lessons to live with. Face the future with its many challenges, and don't neglect enjoying the clouds, birds, children, friends, and grandchildren today. Count your many blessings, for their are many rich experiences yet for us to live out. SSTTOOPP!!! Think of one blessing that you are enjoying right now that you don't deserve. Then express to the Lord your gratefulness for that blessing.
Just last Friday my grandson Parker, Tiffany's youngest son, reminded me of his broken arm of a few months ago and that He felt God had given him another chance to enjoy the benefit of the miracle of the full use of his arm. He reached out his arm and flexed his muscle, I was reminded of God's many rich blessing that He has poured out on me, over my life. "Thank you Lord for the blessings that have come my way."
As another song says so well, "Count your many blessings." When the grandkids are running around the house playing, I am reminded of the many joys of life that have been mine. "Great is thy faithfulness," Oh Lord.
SO GO WITH GOD, for His blessings are new every day. Stop and think of one joy that has been yours this week so far. Then thank the Lord for your being able to enjoy that blessing so early in the week.
Fantasy