ECCLESIASTES 8:11-13 “EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT”
A) Several years ago an Amtrak accident occurred in Maryland!
* In that accident, the Amtrak engineer was smoking marijuana and drinking and was not paying
attention to the warning lights on the track.
* As a result, he allowed his passenger train to collide with a freight train.
* In the collision, dozens of people were either seriously injured or killed.
* The engineer served 5 years in prison.
B) In Kentucky, a drunk driver hit a church activity bus head on!
* The fuel tank on the bus ruptured and 27 people, mostly teenagers, on the bus were burned to
death. * The drunk driver served a nine year sentence and is now free!
* Eric Rudolph, the abortion clinic bomber (He also pleaded guilty to the bombing of the 1996
Olympics in Atlanta) just now going to trial! * Scott Peterson ....... * Look at v.11 .......
* John Couey sexually assaulted Jessica Lunsford and buried her alive .......
C) Those are horrible incidents, and in each of them, it seems like those where the most
innocent, suffered the greater trial ... But life is like that sometimes!
* There are times when it seems that trouble comes to those who ought to enjoy the fullest of life’s
blessings. * That is the problem the writer of Ecclesiastes is dealing with in this passage .......
* And it is a problem that we all deal with from time to time.
* It is a problem that I would like to address this morning.
D) Even though we look around us and see injustice and trouble coming to people, and we may
even wonder why!
* Even though we all go through times of struggle and may question the reason behind it in our
own lives. * Even though some of you may be there today .......
* I want to tell you and show you from God’s Word that everything’s gonna be all right!
* Let’s learn that truth from the Word of God this morning! * That’s right .......
* No matter how it looks right now, everything’s gonna be all right! * Let me prove it .......
(1) THE PROBLEM THAT BOTHERS US!
* v.12 reminds us of the age old question that has plagued the heart of man since the dawn of time: * “Why do the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper?”
* v.14 clearly lays out the problem experienced by the Preacher.
* This is a question that is addressed many times in the Word of God.
A) It is the focus of the book of Job! * By the way, Job’s friends concluded that the righteous do
not suffer ... Therefore, Job’s trials were in reality, the result of Job’s sins!
* Many people still have that same opinion in our day!
* It is also the focus of Psalm 73! * Asaph is nearly to the point of giving up as he witnesses the
prosperity of the wicked and the trials of the righteous!
* Psalm 37 also deals with this problem, as does Psalm 49.
* In fact, the idea that serving God brings with it immunity from trials has caused many suffering
saints to become disillusioned, and has them to quit serving the Lord.
B) Now, I want to be clear that serving the Lord does bring with it many benefits!
* If you are saved, you are the partaker of a list of benefits that is too long to mention this morning!
* Some of which are: Salvation, forgiveness of sin, security, a home in heaven, the presence of
God, the promise of His help and provision, etc.
* However, most of them are spiritual in nature, while most of our trials happen in the physical
realm ... That is why we often have a problem accepting the things that come our way!
C) If we are not careful, when the trials of life begin to multiply in our lives, we might come to
the same conclusion that the preacher came to in Ecclesiastes, Ecc. 1:2; Ecc. 2:23!
* We might just come to the place where we think that all of life, especially the rewards of living
for the Lord, are just a waste of time!
* Let me just remind you that there are no accidents with the Lord!
* Ill. When a cowboy applied for an insurance policy, the agent asked, “Have you ever had any
accidents?” * After a moment’s reflection, the applicant responded .......
* “Nope, but a bronc’ did kick in two of my ribs last summer, and a couple of years ago a
rattlesnake bit me on the ankle.”
* “Wouldn’t you call those accidents?” asked the puzzled agent.
* “Naw,” said the cowboy. “They both did it on purpose!”
D) We have discussed the problem, this morning, and it is a problem that we all deal with at
one time or another .......
* Now, let’s allow the Lord Jesus to help us to achieve the proper perspective on this subject.
* Notice what He said in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world.”
* According to the Lord, as we move through life we can expect that there will be pressure placed
upon us from time to time.
* Even though we know it, as did Job, it still bothers us when we see the righteous suffer.
* Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
(2) THE PROMISE THAT BLESSES US!
A) He goes on to tell us that even though the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem to
be unjust burdens, things will eventually work out for those who love the Lord.
* He seems to be reminding us that even our trials have the ability to be turned into triumphs!
* Sometimes troubles hit us like a ton of bricks knocking us down and causing us injury.
* But God can bring great gain into our lives through these burdens and trials.
B) That’s why I’m glad that I can tell you this morning that everything’s gonna be all right!
* It may look bad for you this morning, but in the end, things are going to work out just like God
has planned! * And, you may ask, what has God planned?
* He has planned nothing but the best for His children! * Rom. 8:28 “And we know ...”
* 2 Cor, 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”
* Jer. 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace,
and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
C) Allow me just to touch on a few areas of life where the devil likes to tell us that we are
wasting our time!
* That things are not going to work out and all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
* Yet, I want to tell you, by the Word of God this morning that everything’s gonna to be all right!
1. The Area Of Our Trials - When the burdens of life begin to pile up on us, there is a tendency to
want to throw in the towel!
* Let me just remind you that the Lord is working in your life, and everything’s gonna be all right! * You may not can see that this morning, but God will work it out in the end!
A) A pastor whose son had committed suicide stood up to preach only ten days later!
* The text he chose was Rom. 8:28 “And we know ...”
* After reading the verse aloud, he was obviously having trouble continuing.
* He said, “I cannot make my son’s suicide fit into this passage.”
* “It’s impossible for me to see how anything good can come out of it, yet I realize that I only see
in part ... I only know in part.”
B) He said, “It’s like the miracle of the shipyard.”
* Almost every part of our great oceangoing vessels are made of steel.
* If you take any single part, be it a steel plate out of the hull or the huge rudder, and throw it into
the ocean, it will sink ... Steel doesn’t float!
* But when the shipbuilders are finished, when the last plate has been riveted in place, then that
massive steel ship is virtually unsinkable.
C) “Taken by itself, my son’s suicide is senseless.”
* “Throw it into the sea of Rom. 8:28, and it sinks.”
* “Still, I believe that when the Eternal Shipbuilder has finally finished, when God has worked out
His perfect design, even this senseless tragedy will somehow work to our eternal good.”
* That’s the response to trouble that we’re looking for, as we move through our trials this morning.
2. The Area Of Our Salvation - How many times has the devil, or your own flesh, tried to tell you
that you are wasting your time trying calling yourself a Christian?
* How many times has the devil tried to convince you that you were not saved?
* Now, I don’t know if you are saved or not, but I can say that if you have trusted Jesus Christ as
your personal Savior .......
* Then you have some wonderful promises that tell you clearly that everything’s gonna be all
right! * John 10:28 “And I give unto them eternal life’ and they shall never perish, neither ...”
* Heb. 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
* Rom. 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which ...”
* John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him ...”
* John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will ...”
* The list could go on and on! * So, if you are genuinely trusting Jesus Christ this morning, then
don’t let the devil mess with you! * If you are God’s child, then everything’s gonna be all right!
3. The Area Of The Church - We are living in a day when people, even those who claim to be
saved, are turning away from the church.
A) If we aren’t careful, we will allow the devil, and our own foolish thinking, convince us that
the church is in trouble and that she’s going down!
* Well, I just want to remind you this morning that everything’s gonna be all right where the
church is concerned!
* Remember what Jesus said: Matt. 16:18 “... upon this rock I will build my church; and the ...”
* This house is His house and He will take care of it.
* By the way, when did He ever promise us that the church would always stay on the mountain
top? * He never did ... And there will be times when the church will walk through the valley!
* But we must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus and He will bring us through that valley back to the
clear air of the mountaintop!
B) If we aren’t careful, we will become sidetracked at church! * It has happened to me!
* Imagine that! * You get so focused on who isn’t there and what their problem might be that you
forget about the one’s who are there.
* In other words, we can get to the place where we miss the forest because of the trees!
* May the Lord help us to remember that the church is His investment and He will tend to it!
* Our sole duty in regard to the church is to be obedient to what the Master has called us to do.
* If we are doing that to which He has called us, then the rest is His responsibility!
4. The Area Of The Future - One of the greatest worries that occupies our minds concerns this
question: “What will happen in the future?”
A) Really, we spend much of our time worrying about what might happen!
* Well, let me just tell you this morning that everything’s gonna be all right in the future!
* I might as well tell you now that there will be trials and there will be valleys.
* But, there will also be blessings and times of great victory.
* There will be good times and there will be bad times in the future, but through them all,
remember that we serve a God Who is already in the future .......
* And He has promised to go with us there to lead us safely through! * Heb. 13:5 “I will never ...”
* Whatever the future may hold for you, remember that your Heavenly Father has personally
designed your future and whatever comes your way first had to receive His divine approval!
B) Just remember that in every area of life, everything’s gonna be all right!
CONCLUSION:
A) Sorrow can lead us into one of four lands .......
* The barren land in which we try to escape from it .......
* The broken land in which we sink under it .......
* The bitter land in which we resent it .......
* Or the better land in which we bear it and become a blessing to others.
B) I wonder this morning, where are our trials leading us?
* Do you really believe that everything’s gonna be all right?
* If there are doubts, why not let the Heavenly Father soothe them this morning?
* He can help you to safely navigate the troubled waters of trial and affliction.
C) There is a story told about a certain handicapped high school student!
* Although the crutches on which he hobbled kept him from being physically active, he excelled in
his studies and was well liked by his peers.
* They saw the problems he had getting around, and they sometimes felt sorry for him, but for a
long time nobody asked him why he had this difficulty.
* One day, however, his closest friend finally did. * “It was polio,” answered the student.
* The friend responded, “With so many difficulties, how do you keep from becoming bitter?”
* Tapping his chest with his hand, the young man replied with a smile, “Oh, it never touched my
heart.”
D) My friends, that is what the Lord Jesus can do for you and for me if we will face our trials
with faith, knowing that everything’s gonna be all right!
