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Still Rolling Stones • Living Stones – 5/16/21

Life offers many opportunities and diversions. It’s easy to live life randomly, moving around from space to space treating life like a game of Trivial Pursuit. The greatest tragedy would be to come to the end of life and realize that your time is up and you are empty; you have missed out on the most important things in life. “If you love life, don’t waste time.” “For time is what life is made up of.” (Bruce Lee) In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says there is a season for everything. He defines the extremes of human existence…birth and death, mourning and laughing, weeping and dancing, and on the list goes. Life brings us seasons of good times and seasons of bad times. Whatever season you are experiencing, Solomon’s advice is the same…accept God’s purpose. 

Scriptures – Ec 3:1-8, 11-13, 15, 17; 11:8, 2 Co 1:9; Ep 2:10, 5:15-16; Ph 4:11

Verses – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: (Ec 3:1) Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ec 3:11) God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. (Ec 3:11-13) “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” (Ec 3:17) So pay close attention to how you walk—not as unwise people but a wise. Make the most of your time because the days are evil. (Ep 5:15-16)

Thought – What do you do when bad things happen, when you don’t understand? Are you screaming, “Why is this happening to me?” Solomon tells us that we cannot see the scope of God’s work. We have a limited perspective on the past and present, but God sees the future and knows every situation from beginning to end. God’s plan is too big for us to comprehend. While we see pain, God sees the finished product, the purpose. While we focus on the external, God focuses on the internal. While we focus on the here and now, God’s focus is on the eternal. As a Christ-follower you may not know how God is going to work out your situation or how you’ll get through, but you must place your trust in God knowing that He has your best interest at heart. If you don’t accept God’s purpose and trust Him, you’ll find yourself full of resentment. If you stay there long enough, you will stop living. To make the most of your life, live in the present. If you want to find joy and happiness, live beyond yourself. Do good while time is on your side. You are given 86,400 seconds each day, and a life span of maybe 60/80/100 years. You can’t save your time, but you can invest it. To waste your time is to waste your life. The Bible says that one day we will all give an account to God of what we did with our time. If you want to live life to the fullest, ask yourself these questions. 1) What can I learn from this moment? 2) What good can I do in this moment? 3) What can I enjoy in this moment? 4) How can I trust God in this moment? When you make God the center of your life, then all seasons become important, relevant, valuable. Make the most of the time God has given you and be thankful, be content, do good!

Questions – On a scale of 1-10, how content are you? What causes discontentment in your life? How hard is it for you to be content in every circumstance? Is it difficult for you to live in the present? Do you tend to think of the next thing you have to or want to do instead of being present in the moment? How can you balance eating, drinking and enjoying life with answering God’s call to be a disciple? 

Response – Consider the things that are causing discontent in your life. Ask the 4 questions above and begin to trust that God has everything well in hand.  

Prayer – Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of time you have given me. Help me to use it to do good for your glory. Help me to be content in every circumstance, knowing that you have my best interest at heart. May I have an ever-increasing attitude of gratitude. In Jesus Name I pray, amen.

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