
Ecclesiastes 11 (HCSB)
Invest in Life
1 Send your bread on the surface of the waters, for after many days you may find it.
2 Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or the north, the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you don’t know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don’t know the work of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good.
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun.
8 Indeed, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many. All that comes is futile.
9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Ecclesiastes 12 (HCSB)
The Twilight of Life
1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:
Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;
2 before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain;
3 on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,
4 the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint.
5 Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for man is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street;
6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well;
7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”
The Teacher’s Objectives and Conclusion
9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. 11 The sayings of the wise are like goads, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.
12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. 13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 12:9-10): Father, please forgive me for not being a very good and consistent teacher of Your word. Help me to be better at speaking Your word, but also to have confidence behind the words that I speak as I often feel I am not conveying the message properly and doubt myself; often leading to frustrations.
PROMISE (verses 11:9 & 12:14): You promise us that one day, when our time on earth is complete, that You will bring us before You for judgement; both good and evil things will be judged so we should try our best to fight the flesh to stay true to You in all things.
ATTITUDE (verse 11:6): Lord, please help me to always work towards an attitude of giving and involvement. Help me to change my attitude of fear and doubt, so that I can be confident and joyful in that I am doing Your will and Your works.
COMMAND (verse 11:13): Father, help me to truly embrace and follow Your command here when You say to far You and to keep Your Commandments. I know this fear is a respectful fear to help govern our ways. Please help me to internalize this fear so that I may always WANT to do what is pleasing to You.
EXAMPLE (verses 11:2-3): Thank You for the example You give here of a giving, gracious, and grateful heart, Lord. Help me to follow this example so that I may be increasingly giving for Your glory as well as grateful for the rewards others receive that I may want. God's Kingdom is glorified whether the reward went to me or to another of Your children. Thank you!
*DAILY NOTE: I struggle so much with consistency in my faith walk. Oftentimes it is because I do not feel like I'm doing things right or maybe I'm not seeing a "return on investment" in a sense. I need to be better at simply leaning on God through ALL things and as long as I'm doing what's in His word and what I feel the Spirit is telling me is in His will, then I can be satisfied with what I'm doing and keep moving forward. Help me to embrace this, Father, so that You are always my focus. Help me to envelope everything in my mind with Your words and Your truths so that I may always find ways to do things in Your will.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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