Pastor’s Corner

Trivia:

Well good Tuesday morning, You were all right on your guess. Here's another brain challenge. How do you wish someone a happy birthday in French? By saying, Bonjour, Au revoir, Joyeux anniversaire, Merci. Make a guess.

Challenge:

Ecclesiastes 8:16 "In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people's burdens here on earth. I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night."

Now Solomon states for us his search for an understanding of life, beyond the human daily affairs that life presses upon us. The daily routine of life, the providing of daily physical needs, the family responsibilities that all parents bear, then there are the spiritual responsibilities that we must uphold.

Let's recount the lesson that we have looked at in verse 11-15. 11) Mankind has a deep need for punishment/consequence for wrong doings. 12) Those who live in proper respect and fear of God are always better off. 13) Those who live outside of God and His shadows of blessing will be empty. 14) Sometime just a surface look at life can seem that the evil works of godless men prosper. 15) So with these all of these lessons in mind learn to gain enjoyment from the everyday simple enjoyments in life, food, friendships, fellowship with fellow believers. communion with God.

Verse 16 he is now recapping these lessons, so my friend search for the wisdom that only knowing, walking, revering God can give you. The many activities of life can easily take precedence in our lives, to the neglect of our walk with the Savior. We can so easily get caught up in these many mundane responsibilities of life, that we forget that He our wonderful Savior, our evening shadow, our comforter, our every moment companion is nearby in times of all our greatest needs.

Run to Him my dear one,for only He can satisfy your needs. Only He can fill your voids in life, for only He knows the reason for your struggles today, yesterday, and yes even tomorrow. Rest in Him in the middle of life, He will be your place of refuge after you have fallen, He will be your strength when you feel that you have no strength left, He will pick you up again and set your course to strength and blessing.

I don't know if you have ever experienced this, but in my college years, I spent most of my time in memorizing, studying, but not much physical exercise because of the extreme cold outside (-30 degrees consistently). Upon returning home my Uncle Leonard would ask me to join his son and several other boys to buck hay for the next few weeks. We would pick up 100 pound bales and throw them on the truck, then another team member would stack them on the truck, then once loaded drive back to the barn and stack them into the barn for storage until the next winter. For the first few days my muscles would ache, when getting up in the morning I could hardly walk. The pain was intense, but in time those painful ordeals would go away. In the same way the many intense struggles bring pain, but as we learn the important lesson of our life of going to God, those difficulties became achievable.

Tomorrow we will learn just how all of these things in life fit together for our good. For now rest in Him.

SO GO WITH GOD for He alone knows the needs of our life tommorow, and the strength that going through todays struggles will bring to us through tommorow. Just like daily, consistent exercise, results in stamina in our physical life. In the same way facing life's struggles, uncertainties, unknown challenges, with a dependence of God will bring stamina in our life's spiritual struggles.