I have entitled our message for this morning “One Day at a Time.” What I am going to share has to do with understanding God’s will for our life, and this is a subject matter that concerns each of us as believers.
Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God, says that all you have to do find God’s will is to listen to how He speaks; and that God speaks by the Holy spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways; and he says that God speaks to involve us in His plans – that God wants to invite us on mission. I want to state upfront that I believe there are times that God has a certain mission He wants us to be involved in, and sometimes the Lord is very specific in communicating that mission, like He did with Abraham and Moses. In fact, I’ve preached an entire series on how to pursue wholeheartedly once God shares a calling.
Sometimes, though, God doesn’t reveal to us a grand mission or some exciting adventure. Years ago, my wife and I heard the Lord tell us very plainly to go on mission to South Dakota, and we up and went! There was a time in our life where God would speak and we would just go; but it’s been a while since He’s spoken like that. I believe we’re still willing to follow the Lord in the same way; but perhaps He’s dealing with us differently, because we’re now in a different stage of life – perhaps a similar stage as many other young to middle-aged parents. We’re no longer newlyweds or parents with small toddlers. We have budding teenagers who need stability, and we have other family obligations. And I bet many of you can identify with what I’m talking about!
There are just times when God doesn’t reveal a “big plan.” So, does this mean that we are distant from the Lord, or that maybe we are not hearing Him correctly? Well, maybe sometimes there’s a relationship problem between us and God, but not always. I want to share some insights into understanding God’s will when the excitement seems missing, or when times are slow. So, let’s see what this is all about!
God Knows What Tomorrow Holds (vv. 9-11)
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 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.
In verse 9, Solomon asks, “What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?” He’s basically asking, “What is the meaning of life?” “Why do I do what I do?” Or, you could reduce this question to “What is God’s will for my life?” This is a question that weighs on the hearts of many Christians. We desire to know what God has in store for us, and we want the assurance that what we do in life has meaning, purpose and significance. Does my labor amount to anything in the whole scheme of things?
You know, I find myself asking this question frequently. I want the assurance that where I’m serving is where I will have the greatest impact for God’s kingdom. I must add, however, that knowing God’s will, and having that sought-after assurance that we are truly in His will, can sometimes seem elusive and difficult to understand. So, why is this?
The reason why many of us have problems in understanding, or deciphering, God’s will has to do with our preconception about how we arrive at God’s will. “Convention teaches us that the will of God consists of a specific pathway we should follow into the future. God knows what this pathway is, and He has laid it out for us to follow. Our responsibility is to discover this pathway – God’s plan for our lives.”(1) “If and when we make the right choice; we will receive His favor, fulfill our divine destiny, and succeed in life” (Sittser, pp. 22-23). This puts a whole lot of pressure and stress on people to make the “right” decision, and many of us desire to please the Lord so badly that we are in constant suspense and turmoil wondering if we are on the right “path.” Sometimes we are so afraid of making the wrong decision that we don’t make any decision at all.
From what I’ve read about how God wants us to have peace in or lives, I do not believe that it’s His desire for us to live in anxiety and spiritual paralysis, so there must be something wrong with this common approach to understanding God’s will; and I’m going to point out what’s wrong as we go along.
Verse 10 says that we are here on this earth because we have a “God-given task,” meaning that God does have a purpose for our lives. It’s pretty evident from the Scripture that God indeed has a purpose and plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV). But notice that the plans mentioned by Jeremiah do not spell out a specific “path.”
Knowing that God has a plan (or plans) for our life is what makes us feel like we have to discover that plan; and when we make choices in life, we want to make sure that those choices lead us to God’s will. “[So] the moment finally arrives . . . when we must choose . . . We must take one pathway, turning aside from all the others. Meanwhile a nagging question hovers in the back of our minds. What if we make the wrong decision?” (Sittser, p. 23). I don’t want to live always wondering what might have been, nor thinking of what could have been, do you? I want to have the assurance that what I’m doing is pleasing to God.
The conventional approach to knowing God’s will, which believes you must find the right path, can result in us becoming obsessed with finding that God-given task. But this leads to problems. “It focuses our attention on what ‘appears’ to be important decisions, which might not be as important as we think” (Sittser, p. 23). We then get distracted by the “big things,” the “big choices,” the “big ministries,” and the “big tasks;” and then we lose sight of those supposedly “little things” in life; however, “the little choices we make every day often have a cumulative effect far exceeding the significance of the ‘big choices’ we occasionally have to make” (Sittser, p. 24).
You’ve probably noticed that in our society bigger is always better. Just as an example, many times when a pastor is choosing a church in which to minister, he will only look at the larger church, but God is not always found in the big things in life. We know this from the account of Elijah and the still small voice. This focus on a “big plan” that God has in life can lead us to discontentment as we ignore the blessings and opportunities for ministry that lie all around. We feel that we can’t be happy until we are in the “perfect place,” or God’s “perfect will.”
You have probably heard the story about the husband and wife who said, “I know we’ll be happy once we have kids.” And then a few years later when the kids came along, they said, “I know we’ll be happy once the kids are in school.” Then later, “I know we’ll be happy once the kids are out of the house.” And then, “I know we’ll be happy once the kids’ college is paid for.” At one point they said, “I know that we’ll be happy once we get better jobs,” and when they got better jobs, “I know we’ll be happy once we retire,” and before long they are sitting on a porch swing in retirement, wondering why they are still unhappy, after having wished their lives away, postponing happiness until the perfect moment or situation. If we wait around for the “perfect” moment, then we could miss those truly perfect opportunities. The perfect moment to serve is right here and right now.
In verse 11, Solomon shares that the Lord “has made everything beautiful in its time.” He is saying that God will reveal the God-given task in His timing; and His timing is best, making life beautiful when it is revealed and when it comes to fruition. In verse 11, we also read that “He has put eternity in their hearts,” meaning that the eternal nature of God is within us. Deep inside we “know that we know” there is a bigger purpose to life than what we see. This feeling, or this understanding, that there is a bigger purpose, and our desire to be included in that purpose, causes us to spend a lot of time searching for it.
Here’s another thing. The conventional approach to knowing God’s will, which says that you must find the right path, leads to another problem. “It implies that God for some reason ‘hides’ His will, and we must go looking for it” (Sittser, p. 25), and as a result, “many of us conclude in the face of difficulty and suffering that we must have made a choice outside the will of God. Then we spend the rest of our lives wishing that we had chosen differently. Ironically, we waste the opportunity we do have, however harsh our circumstances, to do God’s will right where we are” (Sittser, p. 26). I don’t want to miss the opportunity to serve the Lord, because of indecision or fear of making the wrong choice. We can do God’s will, and be in His will, right where we are planted!
We also read in verse 11 that “no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” We can’t see the big picture, but God can. God knows what tomorrow holds, and we just need to lean on Him and trust that He knows what He’s doing. Another problem with the standard approach to understanding God’s will is that “our preoccupation with what lies ahead betrays a desire to control a future that simply cannot be controlled. We want the security of knowing what the future will bring, rather than risk trusting God, as the unknown future gradually unfolds before us” (Sittser, p. 27).
In James 4:13-15, we are counseled, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;’ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’.” We’re not going to need to worry about whether or not we will be in God’s will tomorrow if we will just serve Him today; and really, today is all we are promised. We’re going to examine this spiritual concept a little further as we look at verses 12-13.
Enjoy Living One Day at a Time (vv. 12-13)
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor – it is the gift of God.
Picking up where we left off, verse 12 is saying that perhaps we’re being too overly concerned about what God is trying to do from beginning to end. What we should really be doing is rejoicing and doing good works. It’s seems that we’re always asking what the will of God is for our lives; so let me share some verses concerning the will of God:
Ephesians 6:6-7 tells us that “as bondservants of Christ” we should be “doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service.” In 1 Peter 4:19, we are told, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we are told, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” According to these verses, the will of God is found in “serving,” in “doing good,” and also in “rejoicing.” This is what Solomon said in verse 12. So, instead of trying to find out God’s will for tomorrow, let’s focus on His will for today, which is to “rejoice” and “serve God with good works.”
Verse 13 says that we should just enjoy the gifts that God has given – the simple pleasures of life – such as food and drink. You see, there is fulfillment in the simple things. We can serve the Lord, and be found in His will in the simple things of life. The Lord’s will is not always found in parting the Red Sea. In other words, don’t worry about the big picture. As the old gospel song says, we should enjoy living “one day at a time,” and serving God to the best of our ability where He has placed us.
In always looking for the big plan, we make life complicated and confusing, when all God really expects of us is to be at peace and have joy. Therefore, enjoy your daily activities, enjoy the time you spend with your family, enjoy dinner at the table, enjoy your job, and enjoy your place of worship, for all these things are gifts from God and His will for our life. What the Lord wants us to do is to learn to focus on the blessings of today, and to focus on how we can best serve Him right now.
When we look in the Bible, we find that “the will of God [often] concerns the present more than the future” (p. 34). As an example, listen as I read Matthew 6:33-34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” So, how do these verses help us in understanding God’s will? In his book The Will of God as a Way of Life, author Jerry Sittser says that seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness is the will of God for our lives. He says that as we live in the moment, “there are many pathways we could follow, many options we could pursue. [But] as long as we are seeking God, all of them can be God’s will for our lives” (pp. 34-35).
You see, as long as what we choose is not immoral, and as long as what we choose has a kingdom focus and can be utilized to glorify the Lord, it can be God’s will for our lives. Knowing this can provide us peace and contentment. We don’t have to live with indecision, always wondering if we’ve made the correct choice, as long as we are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Time of Reflection
So, this morning, from Solomon in Ecclesiastes, we have gained some valuable insight on arriving at God’s will. The words that we’ve heard – if we allow them to – can provide peace, comfort, and assurance. We have been shown that God has a plan and purpose for our lives, and we’ve also been assured that we don’t have to go chasing after it, or always worry about making right or wrong choices. God tells us that He will make everything beautiful in its time. If we want to be assured that we are in God’s will, we just need to make certain that in whatever we choose to do in life that we are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Our message for this morning is entitled, “One Day at a Time.” We must learn to live one day at a time, and serve the Lord in the here and now wherever He has placed us, and stop fretting about tomorrow, and stop obsessing over the bigger picture, because Solomon said, “No one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (v. 11).
The only thing we can be assured of is today. We are never promised tomorrow. If you are here this morning and you know that you have never before accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it is very important that you especially come to the realization that tomorrow is never guaranteed. We not only need to “serve” God today, but we need to “know” God today. That’s why the apostle Paul declared, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The way you come to know God is by admitting your sins; believing that Jesus is God’s Son, who died for our sins and rose again victorious over sin and death; and by confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
NOTES
(1) Jerry Sittser, The Will of God as a Way of Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), p. 22.
