UBF Daily Bread

LIVING A LIFE OF WISDOM

Passage: Ecclesiastes 11:1~10

Key verse: 9

Invest in Many Ventures

11 Ship^(A) your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.^(B)
²Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

³If clouds are full of water,
    they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
    in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
⁴Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the path of the wind,^(C)
or how the body is formed^[a] in a mother’s womb,^(D)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

⁶Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,^(E)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While Young

⁷Light is sweet,
    and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.^(F)
⁸However many years anyone may live,
    let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember^(G) the days of darkness,
    for there will be many.
    Everything to come is meaningless.

⁹You who are young, be happy while you are young,
    and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
    and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
    God will bring you into judgment.^(H)
¹⁰So then, banish anxiety^(I) from your heart
    and cast off the troubles of your body,
    for youth and vigor are meaningless.^(J)

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed

While wisdom is to know that what comes tomorrow is beyond us (7:14), the wise teacher tells us to prepare today to cope with the possible hardship of tomorrow. One should overcome the fear of failure and invest his assets in different trades with potential profit (1,2). A farmer should not waste time speculating about the wind and the rain. Instead, he should plant the seeds and work on whatever he can get his hands into to succeed (6).

Everyone is given youth which is like the sweet light. As God has allowed us this precious time, we are to enjoy the time working toward our heart’s desire and passion. If we do so in the reverence of God, knowing that we will all stand before his judgment seat, we will be free from the anxiety and troubles of youth (10).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us know that you are in control of our time. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity in this world to live in freedom and to bear fruit. Be with the youth in our generation to come to know you personally to enjoy the light in your presence.

One Word: Live with wisdom.