Daily Devotions
The Purpose Behind Difficult Seasons of Life
Reading for July 10th: Ecclesiastes 1-4
It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
Ecclesiastes 1:13
This "unhappy business" (ESV) or "grievous task" (NASV) or "miserable task" (Christian Standard) that we are busy with in this life is God's gift to us. God has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11), including the seasons of life such as death, weeping, hatred, and war (Ecclesiastes 3:1-9).
You ask, "What can be good in war, or hatred, or weeping, or death?"
Nothing, unless these things serve to cause an awakening in us. Our tears and trials can soften our hearts. They can cause us to seek something more and something better.
The devil has done a good job of causing us to focus our attention on pleasures in this life. God uses suffering to remind us that this life has little to offer us.
We were made for something better than this "unhappy business" that we call life. God is hoping that this "grievous" and "miserable" task will motivate us to seek those things that are better and higher.
Father, fill us with the knowledge of your eternal purpose. Motivate us through our struggles to seek those things that are above.
