In the Book of Ecclesiastes, a wise Solomon appears to look back on his life and advises a young man in his youth. He teaches that achievements in this world are meaningless unless we have God in our lives. As he comes to the close of this book, he gives some excellent advice about things we can control and things we cannot.
Often, we find ourselves worried about things that we cannot control. You may be like myself and find yourself awake at night thinking about what may or may not happen. Solomon tells us, “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where it falleth, there it shall be” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). As hard as I may try, I cannot make it rain or control a tree falling by worrying. These are out of my control, so why do I worry about whether it will or will not happen?
Solomon does tell us what we can control, though:
1. I can control how much good I do for people in my community (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2).
a. We must “cast our bread upon the waters.”
b. Solomon teaches us to do good for all people because we never know when we need their help.
c. We are commanded today to do good to all men, especially the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
2. I can control the number of times I try different ideas for the Lord (Ecclesiastes 11:6).
a. We must be busy working for the Lord, and sometimes we may have to try different events or activities to fulfill this.
b. We never know what idea may be the idea that brings a soul to a Bible study or to get them involved in church.
3. I can control what I do during the day the Lord has blessed me with (Ecclesiastes 11:7).
a. Every day that we have upon this earth is a blessing.
b. We must be busy with these great opportunities because we do not want to look back on our lives and realize we have wasted all these great opportunities (Ecclesiastes 11:8).
4. I can control what I desire to accomplish (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
a. Solomon advises a young man to follow his heart’s desire.
b. We may have always wanted to go on a mission trip, teach Bible class, or even preach, and we should try these while we have time and opportunity.
c. Solomon advises us to “go for it,” but he does not give us a blank check because God will bring all these things into judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
5. I can control my eternal destination (Ecclesiastes 11:10).
a. I can control removing the temptations in my life and the “evil from my flesh” that ultimately ends in sorrow (Ecclesiastes 11:10).
b. The devil’s influence is great upon this earth, so I must be on guard (1 Peter 5:8).
c. I may not be able to control the devil’s influence in this world, but I can control what influences me (Psalm 1:1-6).
Today, we need to focus on the things we can control and leave the rest to God. I cannot control the rain or the direction in which a tree falls in a storm by simply worrying about it. What I can control is what I do for God with every day that He blesses me with. What I can control is what I will have around me that will affect my eternal destination. Friends, let us be busy working on those things we can control.
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