Living quietly and wisely amidst life’s unbending uncertainties - 1

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18 (Context) 11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy. Ecclesiates 9:11-12 NLT (Printed)

Quietness and wisdom complement each other. This duo has proven to be a calm and gracious response of a soul that truly fears God. Timely and timeless insights of a quiet and wise heart have never failed to equip its takers with inner strength of character displayed within a radiant aura of simplicity and contentment. These two are our anchors that keep our faith steady and our hope in God steadfast amidst life’s unbending uncertainties. In the midst of these uncertainties, many find temporary refuge in superstition, some in the power of spiritual darkness giving and promising anything to turn things in their favor . . . only to find themselves in a deeper mess and sure despair. Good luck and Bad luck, karma, yin and yang . . . are some of the many crutches that people lean upon to confront the uncertainties of life. Superstition may look harmless but in reality . . . is enslaving. Solomon’s cynicism was actually a mysterious path of grace that allows us to see something very positive . . . that is, to still choose hope and faith while life is still with us. Truly, a dog that is alive is much better than a dead lion. This morbid reality somehow becomes a credible teacher in celebrating and enjoying life.

Ecclesiates 9 brings us back to God’s rule and the fear of God as the only way to live with and live above life’s uncertainties. While we await eternity, let us find out how quietness and wisdom work. Chapter 9 shows us these timely spiritual and practical insights: Quietly fear God and live wisely.

The two are inseparable . . . fear God, walk in wisdom . . . wisdom, not popularity and power; wisdom, not in longevity of living but in the quality of life. In the fear of God, we respond by trusting God. We are not trying to be simplistic here but we are slowly seeing that in the midst of death and the complications of being alive, trusting someone is, at the most, the only option we have. In this matter, we are hoping that we get to learn to really TRUST GOD! Let us put it this way . . . aware or unaware, life’s uncertainties require us to trust someone. In fact, we do this every day . . . we learn to trust the taxi driver, the surgeon that performs surgery, the pilot that brings us up thousands of feet above, not to mention, the food we eat, the secrets we share, etc. Simply put, trusting someone, even a stranger, is inevitable. Why not choose to TRUST GOD?

(To be continued tomorrow)