This portion of Scripture reminds us of parts of a song that Lynn Anderson sang years ago. She said, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there comes a little rain sometimes.” These words tell us that life is a mixture of both good and not so good, pleasant and not so pleasant times. We all like when things are pleasant but we need to embrace the unpleasant ones too. We must learn to observe life and take careful note of the world around us. And as we do, remember to consider the hand of God in them.
This is the advice of verse 13. It admonishes us to “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?” The implication of this rhetorical question is this: no one has the ability or the right to overrule our Almighty God. He is sovereign and things can happen only as He allows them. The word “crooked,” is not an insinuation that God is the author of evil. For there is absolutely no evil In God. He will never be the originator of evil. In Him, there is only good and there is absolutely no shade of evil. Then why use the word “crooked”? It is meant to be seen as the troubles and difficulties one encounters in life. They are unalterable things, people or events that we wish we could change but cannot. Haven’t we faced them along life’s journey and wished we have the ability to alter them? We all cherish something that we wish God could change it for us instantly, but God has a different perspective. And then, thankfully, we discover that He was right all along. So, we are glad that it happened the way that He had allowed it to happen.
Bear in mind that in Ecclesiastes 1:15, the preacher already said, “What is crooked cannot be made straight….” At that point in time, he had not factored God into the equation yet. But now in Ecclesiastes 7, God is put into the picture. He is telling us that regardless of how we see things, whether they are straight or crooked, we must acknowledge the role of God’s sovereignty in every human experience. In this context, we can now understand why Paul wrote Romans 8:28. He said, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Let us not think for a moment that Solomon was propagating the view of fatalism. No, he was telling us that in everything we go through, God is in sovereign control. And that we must factor divine sovereignty in all our life experiences. We must remember that God is working out all things for good for those who are called into alignment with His purpose.
We can never do anything to straighten what is crooked. Under God’s sovereign power, there is no way we can alter His plan for our life. Even in the trying circumstances of life, we must learn to acknowledge God’s hand in them. However, know that God will never drive us into despair because in Him there is hope. It tells us that no matter how trying our circumstances may be, His perfect plan is being worked out in our life through those trials. While the adverse times may be frustrating to endure, but God is working out His perfect plan to free us from the futility of life’s imperfection.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 explicitly urges us to trust in God and find a way to rejoice, and glorify Him. So, Solomon said, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” When we trust in God, and be assured that He is in sovereign control, it helps us to look at trials differently. We learn to glorify God in whatever is happening to us. When we do that we are in effect demonstrating that God is in control. We can trust that He will bring the best possible outcome from the tough time.
Solomon wisely suggests that each day we live is under the sovereignty of God. If we see every day as a gift from God, we have nothing to lament, regardless of good or bad days. We don't assume that every day will be a fine day. Every day is different and if we recognize God’s sovereignty, we don’t cave in under any circumstance. We just trust that He knows best and will bring us to where He knows we ought to be. No one can second guess what will come tomorrow. We just trust His sovereignty and learn to live from day to day. Like the words of a song that says, “Many things about tomorrow, I may not understand. But I know who holds tomorrow and I know He holds our hands.” The key to a great life is to shift your focus from your problems to God. Let’s look to Jesus, the Author, and Finisher of our faith!
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