“Consider …”

“Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:15, NKJV)

Good Days, Bad Days … they are an integral part of life and living. And admittedly, we would prefer more of the ‘good days and less of the ‘bad days… yet … come they will!

The command here is to “consider”—defined it is to make a careful observation of the way God works. It is a word often employed in both the Old and New Testaments.

Solomon the inspired writer of Ecclesiastes had the opportunity to see a great deal more of life than the average person. Contained in his inspired journal are various portraits of life as he saw it unfold.

It was in those opportunities that he was able to take a close look at the world around him. He studied the seasons of life, learning when it was time for this and time for that. He watched the way people worked and played. He saw how they lived and died.

The wise man invites us to join him by considering God’s work in the world. Then the Preacher asks a rhetorical question: “Who can straighten out what God has made crooked?” The answer, of course, is no one.

Because of His sovereignty … things are the way that God wants them to be, and we do not have the ability to overrule the Almighty. See Ecclesiastes 1:15.

When the Preacher talks about something “crooked” he is talking about some trouble we have in life we wish that we could somehow change but cannot. Sound familiar?

It happens to all of us. We struggle with physical limitations. We suffer the breakdown of our personal or even our family relationships. We have something that we sure wish we did not have, or do not have something that we really wish we did.

Eventually, there is something in life that we wish that God had a different shape to it. What is the one thing in your life that you would change, if you had the power to change it?

According to Ecclesiastes, God has given each of us a different situation in life … translated in modern language to be “our lot in life.” And it will serve no good purpose to argue with God in any way!

The hard, yet useful realization is this:  Everybody’s lot in this world has some crook in it … and there is simply no perfection here, not in this life, no matter how far we look, or dream about, or hope for! Oh, but the beauty of a perfect Heavenly home!

And as challenging as this can be for us, God will always be there … right beside us … helping us … encouraging us … to “press toward the mark that is in Christ Jesus” with the assurance that ‘heaven will be worth it all!’

The Preacher who wrote Ecclesiastes said something similar. “Consider the work of God,” he said. “Do not try to straighten out what God has made crooked.” Solomon is not seeking to be negative or even fatalistic! He speaks of reality.

Interestingly enough Jesus, our Savior, and King would tell us the same thing. “When you consider the work of God,” He would say, ‘remember most of all my love for you through the crooked cross and trust our Father to straighten everything out in His own good time.’

And what a Savior we have! What a God we serve! Help us Oh God to trust you more! This being so … perhaps we should be taking a closer look at why God even allows suffering …

“Think on these things” … you will be glad you did … that is … when you choose to act on them! Allow His wisdom to guide and direct you every day.

 Bill Fairchild, Jr.