Where I went to college, most classes were theory-based. There was even a class called “theory of accounting”, which seemed odd since the numbers are the numbers despite whatever theory you apply to them. The graduate school I attended was different. It was application-based which was a nice change. It seemed very practical and useful.
In the same way, it’s very important to study the character and nature of God, which will always be a critical element of any Christian education, but it’s also nice to have very practical/applicable lessons. For today’s lesson, we’ll apply some of our recent studies to the headlines about Russia invading the Ukraine. Every news outlet has the same headline today (something about the invasion) and it is difficult to find any voices speaking words of comfort or reassurance right now.
That brings us to today’s verse which is from Ecclesiastes 7:14 and says:
In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider— God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.
The first part of this verse is easy – ‘in the day of prosperity, be happy’ – but the second part is more challenging. Note that it doesn’t say “don’t be sad” when you face adversity. It says consider that God made both prosperity and adversity because we might get lax and stray away from Him if there was only prosperity.
If you asked my opinion about the most important word (other than “God”) in today’s verse, I would say it’s the word “consider” and here is why……
As I write this, Russia is actively invading Ukraine, the stock market has been down for several days and the futures are way off, sanctions are being imposed, energy prices are high, politicians on both sides are blaming each other and the world is on high alert. But we know the truth and the truth is that this is part of the plan, and we know it will ultimately all work to glorify God and draw us closer to Him (at least until we stray again). As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes.
So, here’s a simple, two-step plan I would recommend today:
- Stop watching the news or at least stop watching as much; then use that extra time for #2
- Consider where God is moving today in the world, in our community, in your family, and in your life.
Questions:
- On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being “most anxious”, where do you think most people fall on that scale today vs. a couple of weeks ago? And how about you personally?
- The idea that God “makes” or allows adversity can be a challenging concept. If He’s a good and loving heavenly Father, then why don’t we have sunshine and unicorns every day?
- There was a lot of adversity that came out of the “great recession” that started in 2008, but can you think of any good things that resulted from that period? If so, please share with the group.
- Do you agree that the “simple” two-step plan above is a good strategy to help settle our minds and hearts today?
- If you were explaining to someone the value of this two-step plan, what would you include as some of the benefits?
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