Transcript

Rest versus Striving Ecclesiastes 4:6 · Life For Toledo

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I'm thinking today of Ecclesiastes 4.6.
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One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
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It's okay.
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Striving to change the world without God's purpose is futile.
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What if we succeeded?
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What eternal good would there be?
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What good can we do in our effort?
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Of course to do evil is the wrong road.
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But is he who is striving ever really doing good?
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Would we be better off resting in the Lord and allowing him to work through us?
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Can we do this without yielding to laziness and becoming unproductive?
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Lord, I don't yearn for fame.
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I don't think any of us do.
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And those of us who do probably aren't listening to this message.
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We don't even know what's best for us every single day.
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You know.
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Lord, help us do the right things daily.
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Please give us this day our daily bread.
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I think I've heard that somewhere before.
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Is there anything better?
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Resting in God and seeing the outcomes that God provides seems like the only road that
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works.
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But does rest equal a lack of labor?
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No.
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It equals being committed to the labor of love.
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Does labor equal striving?
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No.
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It means trusting God and doing what God would have you to do and allowing him to provide
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the increase.
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We've got this.
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I know that all that's accomplished by our flawed nature fails and falls away.
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But that which God does lasts forever.