July 25, 2018
I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:
TO DO A WORK THAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND
Ecclesiastes 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Could you imagine beholding “all the work of God”? Solomon had spent his life searching out wisdom. He had spent his life trying to figure out the reason of and for everything. He had seen the work of God in his dad’s life, in his family’s lives, and in his own life. The more he observed what God could do, the more certain he became of one thing. A person cannot figure God out. A person will never understand the plan, the reason, the power, or the greatness of God.
Solomon says first that a “WORKING” man cannot comprehend the greatness of God. “Though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it”. You can work and work and work, but never somehow figure out why God does what He does. We think the more we try to manipulate things, man-handle things, and make sense of things, we will suddenly know why everything has happened the way it did. It is not going to happen.
Then Solomon says the “WISE” man cannot figure out the ways of God. “Though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.” Don’t you love the Word of God. Though a wise man “think” to know it. We “think” we can “outthink” God. Let me make sure we all understand one thing. If we could figure out God, and know His ways, then we would be at the same level of God. God would not be God. One of the things that makes God who He is, is that He knows things we do not know. Solomon spent his life trying to learn things that only God will ever know. That is what makes God who He is. All the “work” and all the “wisdom” will never help us figure God out. We just have to trust Him and be glad that the Creator of the universe that knows everything, just happens to love us with unconditional love. He wants what is best for us, so we need to rest in that.
The more we see the work of God, the more we realize that we will never completely understand His plan, His ways, or His reasons. So, let God be God, and you be you. We cannot figure out God, but God has already figured us out. He knows more, so let’s just trust more. He has this.