Jump Start # 1250

Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no delight in them.’”

  It seems that part of the Ecclesiastes message is addressed to a younger audience. Here, in our verse today, Solomon refers to “the days of your youth.” In the previous chapter he said, “Rejoice, young man” (11:9) and “put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting” (11:10). There are some messages that we need to get early in life. The course that we set, the choices that we make often take us on a journey that can lead us a long way off from God. Getting back can be very hard.

Not only is serving God at a young age the best advantage any one can have, Solomon also recognized difficult times that were coming. Our verse talks about “evil days coming.” Earlier Solomon spoke of “the days of darkness” (11:8). Job said, “Man born of woman is short lived and full of trouble” (14:1).

Evil days…days of darkness…full of trouble –those are not the comforting messages that we seek to find in the Bible. We don’t need to be reminded of darkness, trouble and evil. Just turn on the nightly news. Just talk to co-workers. It’s everywhere. Even at holiday times, evil and darkness find a way of surfacing and messing up good things. What is a person to do? The natural thought is to lock the doors, stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. But you can’t. There are things to do. We must go to work and school. The other common thought is to panic, be scared and live with a cloud of doom over us. “Woe are we,” becomes a common theme when we do not approach these things carefully.

Solomon had some solid answers. He told the young people to:

Rejoice. It’s not a time to hide in bed. It’s not a time to give up as lost. There are blessings to be enjoyed and to be thankful for. Solomon says to put away grief and anger from your heart. The evil prey upon the innocent. Victims feel abused. They get angry. Put that way, Solomon says. Don’t let it eat you up. Rejoice. You have life, opportunity, plans—live them. Walk with a smile in your heart, because of God.

Remember also your Creator. I particularly like the expression, “your Creator.” God made you. Just as David would say, “The Lord is MY shepherd…” Or, Jesus would tell His disciples to pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” Your Creator. My Shepherd. Our Father. He is our God. Remember Him. Remember that He loves you. Remember that He is on the throne and will always be there. Remember that it is His will that will be accomplished. Remember that He is good. Remember that He has been there for you. Remember that He longs to forgive you, bless you and wants you to follow Him. What gets one through the dark and evil days? Remembering God. When we forget, we feel abandoned and isolated. Alone is a terrible place to be. Remembering keeps that from happening. I am never alone when I have God.

The New Testament would add to all of this, building our foundation upon the rock, which is Christ. Storms come. Winds blow. Rains and floods beat against our house. But it stands because of Christ. The foundation is sure. Foundation stones of truth. Foundation stones of Scriptures can withstand anything the world throws at us. It may be severe, but it will not crush us. That’s the promise of God.

How wonderful it would be to learn how to avoid dark days and evil times. There is no place you can travel to that is “trouble free.” Every village, every community, every city, every nation has moments of darkness and trouble. Satan is strong and evil people do not care. We read constantly of shootings, here and in far away lands. Politicians do not know what to do. Banning guns will not stop evil. If evil can’t get guns, they will throw iron skillets. Evil is evil. It can’t be driven out by force, laws or pressure. The only thing that stops evil is Christ. When wicked is converted, evil stops. As long as the world ignores Christ, evil will continue.

For the righteous, our choice is to rejoice in each day, remember our Creator and build our foundation upon Christ. We know that someday dark days will be over. Evil will be gone. Trouble will be no more. This happens as the doors of Heaven are opened. The land of endless bliss. No tears, no sorrow, no pain and no mourning—the first things have passed away.

Those early Christians that Rome thought they were beating down and destroying were triumphant in Christ. They stood in white robes around the throne of God rejoicing. Evil will not win. Dark days are not destined forever. The faithful of God have a promise and a hope. Nothing can take that away.

So, rejoice today. Remember today. Build that foundation today. Tomorrow may be a tough day, but with Christ, you can overcome.

Live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Roger