Are you in the right gear?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-12   I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live is believed to have written Ecclesiastes. He is believed to have written it near the end of his life after his return to God through confession and a repentant heart after falling into deep sin. The book points to the very real pursuit of things of this world, things without God, and the futility of a life without God. It is full of wisdom just as many of the Proverbs, and speaks to our world today in the pursuit of all things that do not pertain to God. In the commentary it states this book should be read in the light of it’s conclusion: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

I have pursued all the stuff that the American dream dictates we do: careers, money, materials, success, excess, idolatry, and the list goes on. I have tried and poured my heart into these pursuits which may have brought temporal pleasure, but it always faded or failed entirely. I was in the end always disappointed in these pursuits. When God starts stirring in your heart you tend to loose the drive for these pursuits. You discern the eventual disappointment that will come, and your bent to Him that does not disappoint. That joy and understanding of a heart bent towards God and the things of God will drive you to verse 12; I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives.

11 Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. By God’s design you are wired with an internal drive for your destiny of the future and eternity. This is a gear that drives the motion of your life. This is in everyone, and a heart that recognizes God in their plans is a heart that desires to follow God’s Will for their life. This small understanding of His Sovereignty produces hope, and this hope does not disappoint as earthly pursuits will. Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. What are you going to pour your heart and energy into today; temporal or eternal?