Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday morning's sermon on Ecclesiastes 7:7-10.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient
in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
This verse addresses the dangers of
impatience during difficulties. The teaching starts: “Better is the end of a thing
than the beginning thereof” (v. 8a). The main exhortation here is for the
believer not to have a short-term view of any hardships he must face in this
life.
We must remember the account of
faithful Job. He went through terrible
distress, but Job 42:12 records, “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job
more than the beginning.”
Sometimes we give up too soon. If we would just persevere we might see
blessing even in this life. Nevertheless, the believer must remain faithful
even if he does not see immediate blessing in this life. He must look at his life from the perspective
of eternity. To alter the last stanza of
“Amazing Grace”: “When we’ve been there ten thousand years …will we even
remember the things that seem so large and upsetting to us here and now?” Better is the end than the beginning!
In his Ecclesiastes commentary, Charles
Bridges observes:
The ordinary trials of the Christian life are grievous in the beginning;
but fruitful in the end. Therefore, whatever be the trial of faith, never
despond (p. 142).
God, who in mercy and wisdom governs the world, would never have suffered
so many sadnesses, and especially to the most virtuous and wisest men, but that
he intends they should be the seminary of comfort, the nursery of virtue, the
exercise of wisdom, the trial of patience, the venturing for a crown, and the
gate of glory (p. 143).
The corresponding and completing part
of v. 8: “and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (v.
8b). Well has it been said that patience is a virtue. Paul called it a fruit of
the spirit (see “longsuffering” in Gal 5:22-23).
Notice that the opposite of patience
is pride. Pride is the father of
impatience. Pride says: If I were in
charge things would be better. If God would just do things the way I want, all
would work out well.
More gleaning from Bridges (pp.
144-145):
Patience is the child of faith.
Let the Lord take his own course, as certainly he will. But trust him for
the end in his own time and way.
Beware of fretfulness in walking through the rough and thorny path.
Never forget that we are most incompetent judges of his purposes.
….hastily to give up good purposes because of difficulties—would prove us
to be poor novices in the Christian life. Proud self-confidence expects to
carry all before us, and after repeated failures sinks down in despondency. The
patient in spirit is content—if it must be so—with feeble beginnings, poor
success, and many repulses.
We can apply this to so many
things. We can apply it to our spiritual
life. When we consider our own personal spiritual growth and maturity we might
wonder why we are not making better progress.
We can apply it to how we think of others. If we expect the Lord to be
patient with us, why can we not be patient with others? We can apply it corporately to our
church. And we can apply it to the
church’s influence in our culture. We
want more, but we must have a spirit of patience!
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
1 comment:
Very relevant to me and to our fast food culture. We want it all now.
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