I ponder today about CHASING RAINBOWS? SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW BLUEBIRDS FLY. BIRDS FLY OVER THE RAINBOW--- WHY THEN, OH WHY CAN’T I?
Why do we wish to be some place else? To be someone else? Why can’t we find joy in daily living? We dream great visions of grandeur, that keep us from doing what we can? Are we faithful to our post of duty? Do we serve with honor and excitement?
Some people just can’t be content with real life and real people. Real people and real problems disgust us. We search for perfect people? Blues birds fly here, if you will look? We want, where horses can be different colors. We want TV edited life styles?
We have a LOTTERY ATTITUDE, we don’t have to work, we can win it! Let’s do great things, but let’s sit here with the remote control in my hand? Lord, I can’t sleep at night, I have slept all day?
There was a man named Don Quixote. Don got a horse and a sword and when off to fight giants? Don thought windmills were giants and wasted his efforts and skills not on the enemy, but tilting windmills. He was so determined to fight windmills and kill them all.
May I add, while we fight windmills, the enemy grows? There are real enemies out there.
There was a sad day, the preacher took for his text, --- "Useless, useless, everything is useless." (Ecc. 1:2.) Solomon, a very wise man, had CHASED RAINBOWS and his heart was backslidden, malcontent and bitterness and disappointments in everything and everybody. No body could live up to his expectations?
He had distorted his vision. His distorted vision was birthed in a CHASING RAINBOWS ATTITUDE. He looked for gold at the end of the rainbow and never found JOY and PEACE and Purpose in daily menial chores. The battle was lost in attitudes, focus, and vision.
SOLOMON’S SEARCH LEAD HIM EVERY WHERE, BUT THE ALTAR OF HIS DAD AND GOD. HERE ARE 7 AREAS SOLOMON SEARCHED FOR CONTENTMENT AND WHAT HE DESIRED WAS ALWAYS ONE STEP FARTHER THAN HIS REACH. Solomon’s search was a search for VALUES and a VALUE SYSTEM.
1.) SEARCH FOR WISDOM/ LEARNING. Ecc. 1:17 conclusion there is no end.
2.) SEARCH FOR PLEASURE/ EMOTIONS. Ecc. 2:1 Pleasure is a poor goal/ purpose.
3.) SEARCH IN MIND ALTERING DRUGS. Ecc.2:3 Solomon tried getting high, -- alcohol and booze does not satisfy.
4.) SEARCH MORE MATERIALISM. Ecc. 2: 4-6 Solomon gat him more and more, and desires more and more.
5.) SEARCH FOR AUTHORITY. Ecc. 2:7 Solomon gat more and more well trained servants, still empty?
6.) SEARCH FOR SECURITY. Ecc. 2:8 Solomon gat gold, silver... Thinking there was security in the secure?
7.) SEARCH IN MUSIC. Ecc.2:8 Solomon’s dad was a skilled music and could calm the King’s nerves by playing music. Solomon trained the best musicians of history, and Solomon was still empty and chasing endless rainbows with little to no results? How sad?
THE ENDLESS TRAIL OF CHASING RAINBOWS AND FINDING VANITY, IS ALL IN THE ATTITUDE OF THE SEEKER. We need more than fighting " windmills." How sad to wake up one morning and see the value system you invested your all has been worthless sand? Rainbows come and go, at best they are fading.
A little boy came to the altar, in many tears, he was praying. I knelt next to him. He said, "Preacher, pray that mommy would love me as much as the dog?" There was an element of truth to his prayer request?
We need someone to see the value of menial everyday chores and vision. One day while Saul was chasing his dad’s donkeys, he met the preacher and was anointed King.
David was delivering cheese to his older brothers, when he saw Goliath. David was sheep-sitting when Samuel came to Jesse’s house and Samuel said, "There has got to be more."
There are many useless and vanity feeding attitudes. Once, when my dad was in college (UK), the teacher was debating trivia, and unanswerable -- strife gendering thoughts. My dad, a 50+ year old student, stated this was but endless repetitions and wasted words, and much of the effort was wasted and of no profit.
The teacher disagreed and said nothing was wasted, useless, or vanity.
My dad is an artist and well known for his art work. Dad painted for hours, a beautiful detailed picture all the way around a fresh apple.
Dad gave the apple to his professor. The apple sat on the desk, a work of art and beauty, --- until it rotted, and thus illustrated my dad’s point. All the effort, time, paint for nothing, no lasting purpose.
God, please give me wisdom to invest in the eternal.May I invest my time, talent, and energy in eternal causes. Please, God search my heart, my motives and my attitudes so they become pleasing to YOU.
God, may my heart be broken for what breaks YOUR HEART. Help me, FATHER, to build with gold, silver and precious stone. I must learn wood, hay, and stubble will burn away, and there will be no gifts to lay at YOUR FEET.
I saw on the news, where a man killed his wife. She had squeezed the tube of toothpaste in the middle. He had warned her not to do that. Not one tear of repentance? It was her fault, she knew better.
Remember the news, where a little girl was killed by her step-dad? The little girl had wet the bed? Hear about the church split over who would play the piano? TOO MANY OF US ARE EXPERTS IN TRIVIAL PURSUITS, WHILE OUR FAMILY LAUGHS THEIR WAY INTO AN ETERNAL HELL? WHAT REALLY MATTERS? WHERE ARE OUR PRIORITIES? ARE WE SOLELY SELF FEEDING?
David says, "Lord, teach me to number my days, and use them in a profitable way for the Kingdom." This, too, is my prayer.
The old preacher Paul makes a beautiful point in Phil 4:17..... Not because I desire a gift for you, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. God may we all lay much fruit down at YOUR FEET, fruit that remains.
A great preacher once said: I used to ask God, "God please come and help me" ... Then I started asking God, "God can I please help you?" .... Now, I ask God, " God, will you do Your work through me?" ...
Some hurting person awaits you to do God’s work today.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
