Beating Murphy's Law

Well, I'm sure that most of you, probably all of you in this room are familiar with Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It's stated in different ways. Sometimes it's said this way. If anything can go wrong, it will. Nothing as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think. It's stated in different ways, but the law was actually fully first phrased by Edward Murphy, not Eddie Murphy. Captain Edward Murphy, who was an Air Force Captain in 1949. He was working on a program for the Air Force in deceleration, experimenting with how much deceleration the human body could take. That's when speed trials were first going on and sound barrier was being looked at and that kind of thing. He was involved in that. One of his co-workers had messed something up, and he typically did that. Captain Murphy looked at him and said, well, if anybody can mess something up, it'll be you. Another co-worker took it and coined Murphy's Law. We know it today as Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will. There are lots of applications of that, too, that we all deal with in our personal lives. The other line always moves faster. The chance of the bread falling with the peanut butter and jelly side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. No matter how long or hard you shop for an item after you've bought it, it will go on sail somewhere cheaper. Any tool dropped while repairing a car will roll underneath to the exact center. You will remember that you forgot to take out the trash when the garbage truck is two doors past your house. Those are just a few applications of Murphy's Law, or maybe even like this poor beaver. Sometimes when you cut down a tree, it just falls the wrong way. Poor guy. I mean, things happen in life like that, right? They just happen. But these are, except for the beaver, these are small irritations in life. That we all deal with from day to day. Sometimes, however, sometimes life at its deepest level seems dark and unpromising and unfair and not only frustrating, it seems like that things don't go right. Like almost like some cruel fate has us in its clutches and nothing seems to be going right. And it becomes very frustrating and discouraging, maybe even disheartening. Life sometimes seems to work that way. And sometimes there's a run of that kind of thing that just seems like Murphy's Law has found lodging in my house and it won't leave. Life just seems that way sometimes. You know, it is possible to respond that way even to the truths that we saw in the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3. The last time we were in Ecclesiastes, and if you're new to us, we are in a series of messages on the book of Ecclesiastes. The last time we were in that book, we were in chapter three and we introduced in the first eight verses a new section of the book which really has to do with God's overall overarching sovereign plan and purpose in life. And Solomon's dealing with that in these chapters. He begins that just by way of a quick review in verse one by saying there is a time for everything. The word time meeting literally an appointed time. It has to do with God's plan and purpose. God has appointed a time for everything. And then he says and a season that has to do with an appropriate time, a particular season, a run of time, lengthwise for every activity under the heavens. And so what Solomon is saying is that every event, both the event itself and the time of it, the duration of it, the timing of it is all in the plan and purpose of God. Now he gives us a number of extremes in life that we all deal with that kind of illustrate that plan, a time to be born, a time to die, time to tear down, time to build, time to weep, time to laugh, time to mourn, time to dance. Those are extremes. But those two extremes and everything in between in those lists of contrast that he gives us really describe the fact that God's plan goes from one extreme to the other, everything, both good and bad, blessing and trial are involved in the plan of God. And it would be very possible when we look at that and see what he's saying in the first eight verses to say, you know, that just doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem fair, especially when in my life, it seems to major on the bad and on the trials. My life seems to be a living example of Murphy's law. If it can go wrong, it will. And it does in my life. And so it's very easy to respond that way with kind of a despair and a feeling that, well, God, if that's the way you do things, I don't want anything to do with you. Now Solomon anticipates that very kind of question in verse 9 after he's finished in the first eight verses describing this plan of God that includes everything, everything in its time, he says this in verse 9, what do workers gain from their toil? Now, if you think you've heard that before, you have back in chapter 1 verse 3, he said basically the same thing. That's how he started out the book with that question of frustration with life. The word gain means bottom line profit. And so the idea is, what is the bottom line profit in life in all of my activity and all of my toil and everything I do if life is like that? In other words, if life is just a series of contrast, there's a time to laugh, time to mourn, time to dance, time to, you know, what if life is just like that, then it seems like they cancel each other out, life ends up being a big zero. So what's the purpose? What's the real meaning in life? It's possible to respond that way when you realize that God's plan involves everything, both good and bad, difficulty, trial and blessing. God's plan is big enough to incorporate all of that. It's possible to say, well, forget that. That's just a big zero. I don't want that. Solomon anticipates that question. He goes on in verse 10 to express the frustration this way. I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. It's possible also to say, well, if that's the way God is, he's laid that burden on us. Nothing I can do about it, right? If that's God's plan, if that's God's purpose, there's nothing I can do about it. So why even try? Why even try? That's where life becomes very frustrating and unfair. It seems. Now, although that may be a very natural response to what we have seen about God's plan, it is the wrong response. So what Solomon does now, after telling us about God's overarching plan that is big enough to include everything that happens in life and our objections to that, that doesn't seem fair, especially when my life's full of bad stuff. Now Solomon is going to give us four proper responses to God's plan in life. He's going to tell us, no, no, okay, I understand how you feel. I am anticipating your objections. Now, let's clear the air. Let's talk about how we should respond to God's plan in life. In the next few verses, Solomon gives us four proper responses. I cannot stress how important it is that we learn to live by these four responses. If you don't, you will struggle constantly with this issue of bad things that happen and how they fit into God's purpose and plan or whether or not they even do. So four proper responses to the idea of God's plan. The first one is this in verse 11. I'm going to state it this way, view life from God's perspective. Look at verse 11 and what it says. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Now, I'm going to explain why as we get into the verse, but I want to summarize the thoughts or three thoughts actually in that verse. I want to summarize them with that overarching expression we need to learn to view life from God's perspective. Now, I realize that may sound presumptuous, that may sound like I have God's view on life. I'm really special, aren't I? I know what God thinks. I can remember a high school English class where I'll never forget this. It was kind of a class where we were reading different works of literature and we were discussing them in class. I had a good friend who actually was a fellow member of this church in our high school years and he made a statement in the discussion in that class. He said, well, from God's perspective, and then you began to say what he thought about the literature and he was instantly shouted down from God's perspective. Oh, you've got God's perspective. You know how God sees things. Oh, touch you. You know, I can still remember the things that were said. But you know what he was saying basically was this, if you're a believer, if you know Jesus as your Savior and if you know God's word, God's perspective on life is found right here. And it is possible for one who knows God and his word to know God's perspective on life, how God views life, how God sees life. It's found in the word of God. And what Solomon does in verse 11 is he gives us three statements and you saw the three different statements as we read verse 11 that really flesh out what it means to view life from God's perspective. What does that mean? Well, it means first of all that we believe everything fits together. We believe everything fits together. Now notice how he says it in verse 11 again, he has made everything beautiful in its time. I like to think of this part of the verse as the Romans 8.28 of the Old Testament. You know, Romans 8.28, many of you are familiar with that verse. All things work together for good to them who are the call according to God's purpose, to them who love him and are called according to his purpose. They all things work together for good, not all things are good, but God and his plan has the ability to work all things together to produce good. And his good in our lives is not what feels good necessarily to us, but it's the image of Christ what he's seeking to make in us. That's his, that's the good that's spoken of all things. God is able to work together for good. And that's exactly what this verse is saying. He, God, so he's in control, has made everything beautiful. The Hebrew word for beautiful here means fitting or appropriate. It's not beautiful in the sense that, well, it really looks nice. No, it's not that kind of beauty. It's beautiful in the sense that it's fitting. It's appropriate. He, in control, has made everything. It's not that everything that happens is beautiful, but he has a way of making it fitting and appropriate in its time or in his time. We may not see the timing of things. We may not understand the overall plan and purpose of God and how every detail fits into it, but God has a way of making everything fitting and appropriate in his time, in his time, and he has eternity of work with. So when Solomon is saying, view life from the perspective of God, he's saying basically believe that everything fits together. We have a tendency to focus on the painful process. God is focusing on the result, the product, what he's seeking to bring about in our lives through the process. All we can focus on sometimes is the process and how painful it is. We have a tendency to focus on the external. What's happening to me? God is focusing on the internal. What he is using, what's happening to me to produce in me to be more like the Lord Jesus. So God has a much bigger picture of what he's doing that I'm able to grasp. So I must believe that everything does fit together, that he who is in control of everything makes everything beautiful, fitting, appropriate in his time. That's part of what it means to view life from God's perspective. The second statement that he makes, let me phrase it this way, search for meaning in the events of life. It's okay to search for meaning in the events of life. It's okay to ask the deep questions. You know why? Look at what he says there in the middle of the verse. He has also set eternity in the human heart. What does that mean? He has set eternity in the human heart. It literally means that God has placed within human beings, naturally within the human heart, a curiosity about the bigger picture of things, a curiosity about how things do fit together, about God's eternal purposes, about the big picture of how things are all going to end up, about the future. You see God has placed within the human heart a natural curiosity about the future, about his plan, his purpose, about the meaning of the world, the meaning of life, what our destiny is, how everything fits together in God's plan and purpose. There's a natural curiosity about that that God has put in our hearts so it's okay to ask those questions. It's okay to search for meaning and purpose in all of the events of life. There's nothing wrong with that. We are the only created beings that function that way. Try it sometimes, sit your dog down and talk to him about the eternal purposes of life. What's going to happen beyond this life? You'll get a kind of a stare, maybe a few yawns and a barker too. A dog is only concerned about keeping his belly full in a nice place to sleep. That's all he's concerned about. He's not concerned about the overarching eternal purposes of life. That's for us. And God has put that in our hearts. So he wants us to search for deeper meaning in life and purpose and fulfillment and to see how everything fits together. It's not wrong to ask him the hard questions. There's nothing wrong with asking the wise. As long as we do so with an eagerness to hear from him and a reverence for what he will tell us. Nothing wrong at all. Search for the meaning of events in life. But then Solomon makes a third statement that also helps us understand what it means to view life from God's perspective. Let me say it this way. Be willing to leave some things with God. Here's how Solomon says it. The end of verse 11. Yet. Okay. That's an important word. If we believe everything fits together and God has a purpose on a plan for it all. He can make it fitting and appropriate. Even the stuff that's not beautiful when it happens. If we believe that and if we are asking him the questions, Lord, I need understanding clarification. I want to learn. I want to know what your purpose and plan is. There are sometimes when we have to come to this conclusion yet. No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. There are times in life. If you've lived very long, you've faced them already. There are times in life when you have to say I don't understand. I just got to leave that with God. I cannot fathom what God does from beginning to end. And that expression basically is I cannot fully understand everything that God does from the beginning of his works to the end of his works. I cannot understand everything God does. And so some things I have to simply leave with him. And it really boils down to trust. Can I trust him? Do I believe he is who he says he is? And really viewing life from God's perspective boils down to that. I believe that he can make everything beautiful in his time. And that time includes eternity and some things will not all fit together until eternity comes. But I'm going to search for the meaning of in all the events of life and seek to understand his purpose and the eternal picture of things. But I realize I'm going to come to some points in my life where I have to say I don't understand. I can't fathom this. So I leave it with God. I leave it with you. All of us have experienced those kinds of things in life at least probably all of us most of us at least in this room have. I've had several very close friends that were taken early ministry friends seemingly early in my way of thinking. I can remember Chuck Green Street, Missions to Military in France doing a great work with Pastor Jim Praid for Keith Davie this morning, the director of Missions to Military, one of our missionaries. Chuck Green Street was doing a tremendous work in too long France. Came home on a furlough and the day after he got back in the States, he was killed in a car accident. Do I understand that? Do I understand God's purpose in that? No, I don't. I don't. Some of you who have been around here for a while will remember Melton Williams. Melton was with me in high school and had kind of a difficult home life. And so he spent a lot of time in our home growing up and we were just like brothers. We went to Piedmont together. We worked on the maintenance crew at Piedmont together. We were just like brothers. Melton went to the Mission Field. He went to North American Indians in Montana and worked with them for many years. And then for a period of time in his life, he was off the Mission Field and he was working in Winston Salem and then went back and decided to Lord wanted him to go back to the Mission Field and he was working in Winston Salem. And then went back and decided to Lord wanted him to go back to the Mission Field. He was going to go to Canada to work with North American Indians in Canada. And as he was in Canada doing a survey trip, a drunt driver ran a red light, T-bone discar, and Melton immediately went into the presence of the ward. How do I explain that? I don't understand that. I can't fathom that. Why would God allow that for someone who just said, I want to serve you in Canada. I'm going to go back to American Indians. Wayne Fulton was a very close friend of mine. When I first went to Piedmont, he was a senior. I was a freshman. I was very impressionable and he kind of took me under his wing and we had prayer meetings together with a couple other guys in a room that we called Brook Sheriff. It was an empty room in the dorm and we would pray together at night and Wayne was a real mentor to me and a real help to me. We maintained a close friendship through the years and eventually he became the senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Winston Salem. A great ministry and just a very godly man, one of the most godly men I've ever known. I remember talking with him in May of one year when he just finished up his doctorate and he was telling me about the dissertation he had written and being so glad to have that behind him and so forth. A few weeks later in June, he started forgetting what he was saying from the pulpit and he would just get lost and the message and it happened so quickly. He went to the doctor and he was diagnosed with Jacob Crutzfeld disease which is a quick disease of the brain. He actually contracted it through a venison from a disease deer and it attacks like mad cow disease that attacked his brain and within a month he was gone. He died within a month. It devastated that church. One Sunday he's in the pulpit struggling for the right words two weeks later he's gone. How do I explain that? I can't explain that. I can't fathom that. And you have your own stories. Some of you touched very close and very deeply by tragedies in life that you have no explanation for. There come points in life where you have to be willing to say and able to say I can't fathom all that God does or allows from beginning to end. There are some things I have to leave with him. I believe that in eternity's picture he'll make everything fit together. He makes everything beautiful, fitting appropriate in his time. I'm going to ask the questions I need for some understanding but they're going to be times when I'm going to have to say I can't fathom this. So I have to leave that with God. My friend that's what it means. Those three statements summarize beautifully what it means to view life from God's perspective from a biblical perspective. But that's not all Solomon says about dealing with God's plan which involves everything that may happen in life. The second proper response he gives us is this enjoy life as the gift of God. Look at verse 12. He says I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live that each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil. This is the gift of God. Now if you think you've heard that before you've heard that before too we heard it at the end of chapter two. Remember that this is the common refrain that kind of punctuates the book of ecclesiasties and particularly summarizes each major section of the book. And I don't believe it's Solomon saying well if life is that rotten and that if you know it's all murphy's law then just forget it and just have as much fun as you can get out of each day. Just live it up. I don't think it's a I don't think it's that kind of pessimistic cynical resignation to a cruel fate. It comes up too often in the book and it comes at strategic places where basically he's saying what is that back off a little bit recognize what a beautiful gift God has given you in the life you live and enjoy what God has given you. Enjoy life as the gift of God. Three simple things he says to be able to keep our focus on that the first one is rejoice. You see it there in verse 12 I know that there's nothing better for people than to be happy or to rejoice to have a thankful positive attitude to be able to focus on those good things that God has given us in life. It's so easy to focus on the hardships the negative the difficulties the trials focus on those blessings which God has given you rejoice in those. I heard about a lady one time I think she was probably in West Virginia she only had two teeth and she was I can say that I grew up here okay I can say that I realize where I am I grew up here but she was thankful that they met. Think about that. There's something to be thankful for isn't there regardless of what the situation is you can usually find something to be thankful for. That's what Solomon is saying rejoice I know life is hard I've just talked about that there is a time to weep and a time to mourn there are hard times there is a Murphy's law it seems like in our lives sometimes if it can go wrong it will but find what you can rejoice in. Find what you can have the positive thankful grateful spirit and attitude about so rejoice and then he says do good and do good while they live he says nothing better than that to rejoice and to do good while you live to do good basically in the book of Ecclesiastes means to be obedient. What is talking about is live your life in a way that is obedient to God. The blessing of that is if you live in obedience to God you're not carrying around a weight that you know ton of guilt on your back all the time because of. Disobedience and you know you're living outside the will of God and they're sitting your life and you're guilty about that all the time that ways you down in life it's like a ball and chain you carry around with you in life you can enjoy life that way. So rejoice in the good things God's giving you and do good live obediently and when you're living obediently you can live with joy. And then the third thing he says I love this and I'm just going to summarize it this way savor savor all of life. You see it there in verse 13 that each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil this is the gift of God. Not some kind of pessimistic resignation to a cruel fate this is a gift of God. What is the gift of God to be able to eat and drink and find satisfaction in your labor we've seen that before that common refrain in the book basically means don't feel pressed into the rat race that you're always looking for the biggest and better and more possessions and the next event I've got to get to so that you cannot appreciate and enjoy what God has placed right before you. To be able to sit down at the table and enjoy the food and drink God's given you that's a very simple approach to life but it's an approach to life that sees as a great blessing what God has placed right there in front of you and not always be thinking greener grass oh I like what that person had I like his life I'd like to be where she is you know no God's given you something to eat today. Save her that and the toil that God has given you the work God's given you find satisfaction in that whatever it is and whatever it affords you or brings to you find satisfaction in that I've not I've certainly not completely learned that lesson but it began to be impressed very deeply on my heart many years ago I think it was in the book. I think it was in the early 80s in my first church in North Carolina not many people went to nursing homes we just didn't have many in the area but I really became familiar with that in Indiana and I will never forget a man by the name of Leonard Amstutz I was visiting him in a nursing home one day and I would visit him quite frequently he was in bad shape near the end of his life and he only had one possession with him in that room it was his chair from home it's all he had and I will never forget as I visited him him thanking God that he was able to have his chair and it was so deeply impressed on me John someday you may get to the point where all you've got left is one thing everything else is gone will you be able to be grateful and thankful that you have that one thing there in front of you God's blessed you with that I certainly have not learned that lesson well there's the abundant testimony to that but so many times that's been impressed on my heart whatever God has given you food drink whatever job he's given you you can find satisfaction enjoyment fulfillment in that savor all of life that he has given you quit looking across the fence at the other person quit looking at the greener grass quit hoping your life could be different savor what God has given you enjoy life as a gift from God that is part of a biblical perspective on life it's part of how we deal with the ups and the downs of life with the times of rejoicing but yes the times of weeping to all of those contrasts he gave us the first part of the chapter third response that Solomon gives us is this accept life in the fear of God accept life in the fear of God remember what the fear of God is we it's another major topic in the book of Ecclesiastes that we saw in the first message on this book the fear of God fear of God means to recognize who he is and respond appropriately recognize who God is what his character is and respond appropriately to that in line with who the Bible says he is that's the fear of God doesn't mean to be afraid of him in the sense that you cower in the corner of the room afraid he's going to strike you not that it is a it is a faithful recognition of who he is and you respond appropriately to who he is and who he is in this passage is described by his work notice how his work is described in verse 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it God does it so that people will fear him okay the focus first of all in understanding accepting life in the fear of God the first thing we need to understand is his work and Solomon describes God's work in two ways number one his work is permanent did you see it there his work is permanent he says in verse 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever there's nothing shallow nothing superficial about God's work there's no inferior workmanship it lasts forever God deals in forever God deals in forever when was the last time you bought a car you don't need to answer but just think about it when was the last time that car passed the warranty stage I'm convinced that manufacturers place a microchip in the car that sends a signal to the car for everything to start breaking down the day after the warranty expires it's that way with everything is not an eventually it's going to start breaking down God doesn't do that God doesn't work that way all that God does is permanent he deals in forever it's endure forever it's permanent secondly it's perfect God's work is perfect nothing can be added to it nothing taken away from it there is nothing that you can add to God's work so there's nothing missing about his work there's nothing you can take away from it there's nothing extra it's always perfect it is spot on it is perfect it's just right not too little not too much it's not too early not too late God's work is perfect in the 40 years that I've been married I suppose I've put together my share bookcases and desk and cabinets and you know I can remember putting together a swing set one time and if there's ever a purgatory in life that's it bicycles you know all kinds of stuff I've put put together stuff like that and those of you who know me know that I'm not real good at that kind of stuff so I have to get the instructions out and follow it to a tee you know I even lay out stuff like it looks in the picture so I make sure if the board is turned this way I've got it turned exactly like they show it it better be right the better have the aren't you frustrated when they don't have all the materials in the box that they're supposed to have that's frustrating isn't it It's a little bit better when there's too much, but still I'm thinking, oh I left out something, the whole thing is going to crumble once I stick it up. God doesn't do that. There's nothing ever missing and there's nothing that can ever be added and nothing ever left over. God's work is perfect. It's always just right. Do you believe that? That's what the Bible teaches. Then if you believe that, what is our response to that? Our response is to fear Him. God does it. He says so that people will fear Him. And again, remember, that means I recognize who He is. I know that His work is permanent. Nothing will fail and it is perfect. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. If I believe that, then my response is going to be to trust the one who does all things right. Even though I may not see it right now, remember, he's got eternity to work with. I may not see it right now, but I'm going to trust him. This is not some resignation to a blind fate. This is a calm acceptance of life as God unfolds it to us. Step by step, day by day. It's a calm acceptance of what God does or allows in our lives, step by step. I saw a beautiful example of it Friday. He was a very chaotic day in Dan and Amy Things household. Pastor Jim was going to go down and pick up Dan at 9 o'clock taking to the Charlotte airport. Dan was going to be flying to PNG to put together their belongings and make sure they're ready to ship home. Well, Elijah had been kind of sick with a little bug of some kind and he started throwing up Friday morning. The doctors in Boston and in Morgantown had told them that because of the potential illness that he may be dealing with, if he ever starts throwing up, he could get dehydrated quickly. His whole system could shut down. He needs to be gotten to a hospital quickly and on IV fluids as quickly as possible. And so there they are, 8 o'clock in the morning. Dan's supposed to leave in an hour to go to PNG. What do you do? What do you do? Well, he made the right choice. He stayed here, went with Amy to the hospital in Charleston. Most of you know, thankfully that Elijah did very well and he's back home now as of yesterday. But it was a scary time. Dan said something yesterday afternoon in that hospital room. He said, you know those things in PNG are just possessions. We'll take care of that sometime. This is my son. I got to be here. Amy said something that I will never forget. She said for some reason that I don't understand. I did not want Dan to go to PNG at this time. I may never know why. I may never know what's going on in PNG. What might have happened? I don't know. But for some reason, God did not want him to go to PNG right now. Now what I heard was not a blind resignation to a cruel fate, to plans being interrupted. Things needing to be coordinated with people who were all in place to make happen. What was going to happen? I didn't hear that. What I heard was a calm acceptance of life as it unfolded on Friday in God's plan for them. That's what Solomon's talking about. Accept life in the fear of God. And then quickly the last response that God tells us to have is to learn the lessons of life through the patience of God. Learn the lessons of life through the patience of God. It is very patient with us. He is very patient with us. Look at how Solomon says in verse 15, whatever is has already been, whatever has been, or whatever will be has been before. And God will call the past to account. It's a fascinating verse. If you think you've heard that one before, you have two. It's in chapter 1 verse 9. He's talking again about that cycle of life that things seem to come up over and over again. Whatever has been or whatever happens, that's already been. There will be, that's been before, but the key to understanding this part of the verse or this verse is the last part. God will call the past to account. You may have a note in your Bible. If you have a study Bible, I have one in my Bible here that says, or it can be read this way, God calls back the past. Literally, the Hebrew expression is a very difficult one. And those who write on the book of Ecclesiastes say it can be taken in four different ways. So it is difficult to grasp the understanding of that last phrase. But literally, if you just translate it word for word, it means this, where it says this, God seeks what passes by. You can see that is a little difficult to grasp, and why there are so many different interpretations as to what that means. God seeks what passes by. What has already happened, what we have a tendency just to fly by and not notice, God seeks out. And as I was studying that phrase this week, here's the concept that I came across. It's this, God repeats what has already occurred. That's probably the best way to understand this phrase. God repeats, he seeks out what has already passed. What we blow by and don't recognize or notice, God notices that. He seeks it out, what has already occurred, and he causes it to occur again. Here's the idea, the thought. God will bring back the same experiences over and over again. He will repeat the same experiences in your life so that you'll learn something you didn't learn the first time. That's my theological explanation of Deja Vu. Seriously, you know when they've been experiences in life, you think, man, I've seen this before. I feel like I'm going around circles in life. We God wants you to see the same scenery again so that you will see observe, learn something you did not learn before. God's very patient with us. He will go over and over the same lessons again and again and again. He's very patient with us. What he's wanting from us is that we need to learn from life. We need to learn. We will pass through difficult experiences again and again, maybe in a little different form until we learn what God is wanting to teach us about ourselves and about him and about how we should be relating to him. That is what Solomon's saying here. Learn the lessons of life from the patience of God as he patiently brings them back to us again. This church I passed through the 1970s was a small rural church in North Carolina. There was a man there who fought everything I did. I was young, admittedly and so forth, but he just fought everything I did. Everything I said or did, he was against it. Even when we decided to do a church directory, he came to me and said that kind of social stuff is of the devil. I will not have my family in that directory. It was everything we did. It was just like constant and it was very wearing. I went from that church to a church in Florida. He was there too. Different name, different look, but he was there. And then I went to a church in Indiana and he was there. The last two years of my ministry there were really extremely difficult because of a man that just fought everything. Of course it was ridiculous, you know what he thought, but he fought everything we did. Then I came here where everything is perfect and everyone is perfect. Again, this is a lesson I haven't completely learned, but I think I'm learning a little bit about it. That is that God brings the same things across my path because I didn't learn very much the first time about me. I didn't learn about looking for the plank in my own eye rather than looking for the sawdust in my brother's eye. I didn't learn enough about what I needed to depend on him for and how I needed to trust him to vindicate certain decisions or actions. I didn't learn enough about that and so I need to repeat that experience. I need to see it again. And I'm still seeing some of the same experiences because I haven't learned the lessons well enough yet. God is patient and gracious to do that with us. So is life handing you a lemon? Then make a citrus frappe. Sorry, I just had to fool with you a little bit because some of you already filled that out, right? Want to mess with your mind a little bit. Just make a citrus frappe. Learn what God wants to do in your heart and life with what he's sending into your life. Okay? Yeah, some of the things will be bad. Some of the things will be difficult. There will be times of weeping and mourning. There will be times of utter tragedy and difficulty in your life. But the proper response to that is not to give up in frustration. It's not to turn your back on God. The proper response is okay. I'm going to view life from the perspective of God. He does make everything fit together in his time. It is natural to be curious and ask questions about the eternal purpose of those. But sometimes I have to leave those things with God. I'm going to view life from the perspective of God. I'm going to enjoy life as a gift from God, whatever is placed in my path. I will enjoy and I will accept life as it's unfolded to me with the calm acceptance of the fear of God. And I will learn the lessons of life through his patience as I come back around and see the same scenery again. I'm going to ask him to teach me something that I must have missed the first time or the second time or the 30th time. Teach me something, Lord, about you and about me that I need to learn. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for life. Thank you that in the middle of life, both the good and the bad, you make everything beautiful in your time. We trust you with that. Father, help us to recognize and understand that you are a great God and help us to live life as you would have us to respond in a proper way when things are difficult. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.