LIFE IS NOT FAIR.

THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE OF THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)

DATE: TUESDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2023. 

TOPIC:  LIFE IS NOT FAIR. 

TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 8

1. Who [is] like a wise [man?] And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, And the sternness of his face is changed.

2. I [say,] "Keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God.

3. "Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him."

4. Where the word of a king [is, there is] power; And who may say to him, "What are you doing?"

5.  He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; And a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment,

6.  Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, Though the misery of man increases greatly.

7.  For he does not know what will happen; So who can tell him when it will occur?

8.  No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. [There is] no release from that war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

9.  All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: [There is] a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

10.  Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also [is] vanity.

11.  Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12.  Though a sinner does evil a hundred [times,] and his [days] are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

13.  But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

14.  There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just [men] to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked [men] to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also [is] vanity.

15.  So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor [all] the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

16.  When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night,

17.  then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover [it,] yet he will not find [it;] moreover, though a wise [man] attempts to know [it,] he will not be able to find [it.]

MESSAGE: 

Life is filled with hardship and disappointments as well as blessings and joy. The world is full of all manners of crimes and injustice. The persecution of Christians is rising and godly men and women often go unnoticed. In verse 14, the unrighteous appears to have their ways and prosper, while the just are oppressed and persecuted. This is man's viewpoint and even the righteous are tempted to look at life this way. However, God already set the unrighteous in a slippery place and their destruction is imminent (Psa. 73:18). The wicked will reap their rewards now and hereafter, but the righteous will be blessed and will enjoy the riches of grace. Thus, regardless of what a just man suffers here, he is on the side of profit side and should see everything from this standpoint (v.12).

As Christians, all things work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). This is the comfort of the righteous that God will bring out His purpose for our life and will reward every man according to his deeds (Rev. 22:12).

PRAYER: 

Lord, help me to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, so that I may live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.