It’s Hard, Yet It’s Easy
July 27, 2024
In a rut
August 29, 2018
Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. - ECCLESIASTES 11:9-10
“Get it while you can!” is the cynical advice of Ecclesiastes. One of my relatives had a philosophy similar to burnt-out Solomon’s: “Make all you can, put it in a can, and sit on the can.” That’s the summation of life from the perspective of the heart in the rut of pessimism.
Solomon looked back on his life with all its prosperity, power and prestige and declared it meaningless and valueless. So, with vinegary sarcasm, he says, “Live it up! You’re going to die and face judgment anyway… Have fun while you can!” A hedonist world does just that and comes to old age like Solomon, bitter and regretful.
Paul had a better philosophy. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” he writes toward the end of his life. (PHILIPPIANS 1:21) Since Paul met Jesus Christ his heart had never known a rut. He knew that he was a winner whether he lived or died, and with that his heart pulsed with joy!
TODAY’S FOCUS
If your heart is in a rut spiritually it’s time to move out in new stages of growth and service for Christ and His Kingdom. Ask God to provide the opportunities, no matter what your age.
