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Change is stressful. Our country is torn apart and the world seems turned upside down. The Bible is balm for our hearts in these troubled times. One book in particular shows us how to think as we adjust. It is the book of Ecclesiastes. Here are some verses that will give us peace of mind.
No matter what happens, it has happened before. “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9).
Situations come and go. Whether good or bad, our days go through cycles. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to east away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to east away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecc. 3:1-8).
Since we will have good days and bad days, we should enjoy the good days and ponder the bad times. “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider. God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him” (Ecc. 7:14).
Our lives are in the hand of God. “For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them” (Ecc. 9:1).
Things can change quickly and drastically. “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth” (Ecc. 10:5-7).
In a world of change, our main goal should stay the same. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14).
Kerry Duke
West End church of Christ
Livingston, TN