Daily Devotionals

'Every Day Light' with Selwyn Hughes

Devotional: August 14th

For Reading and Meditation:
     Ecclesiastes 11:5-6

There are some things in life that, try as we might, we will never fully understand. This is Solomon's point in the verses before us today. We don't know which course the wind will take, or how bones are formed in a tiny fetus, but it happens anyway. And why? Because God is at work in everything, and the best thing we can do is trust Him. Modern-day science has cleared up many of the things that were mysteries to the people who lived thousands of years ago, but we are still faced with a good many unexplained phenomena. However, whether mysteries can be explained or not - we must carry on living. "Sow in the morning and don't be idle in the evening" is Solomon's next word. He is not saying, of course, that we ought to work all through the day, or that it is wrong to have a time of leisure and relaxation; rather, he is pointing out the benefits of having other interests besides work. There is something wrong in the lives of those who, having finished their day's work, hang a sign on the door of their lives that says: "Do Not Disturb." If, after your day's work, you are too tired to focus on something else then perhaps you ought to re-evaluate your whole lifestyle. It's easy for me to tell you that because I've just done it myself. And I feel much better for it. Solomon's advice came to me at a crucial moment in my life, and unless I'm mistaken, today is going to be crucial and challenging for some of you too.

O God, help me today to take a prayerful and careful look at my lifestyle. Am I really living - or just going through one dreary day after another? Teach me how to pursue life, not have it pursuing me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.