Change is inevitable. It’s a part of life. Just like with the seasons. One summer is not like the one before it.”
–Brad Dennison (Wandering Man)
“My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change.”
–Proverbs 24:21 (NKJV)
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I want to consider, contemplate, even meditate if you will on the following Scriptures taken from Ecclesiastes, chapter 1.
9 — That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 — Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 — There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things That are to come By those who will come after. (NKJV)
I want to point out verse 10 from the NLT: “What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn’t already exist long ago?”
What a minute–aren’t there new inventions and technology all the time? Before you continue along that line, don’t miss the bigger picture. Life, suffering, sorrow, love, and death. Man wants the answers, man wants something new. Give me more, more, more. He’ll buy the newest, most up-to-date gadget just to have something new. However, in reality, the world provides nothing new. Maybe that is why man often gets in the woe-is-me syndrome.
The knowledge has always been there, but man just has not accessed it yet. Look at the idea of Da Vinci. He thought of submarines, helicopters, cannons, and other things, but they could not be used because of the lack of the knowledge of what materials they took and the lack of the technological knowledge needed. Oh, it was there, it was eventually found–but it was hidden. Nothing new, just hidden.
Man, since the time of Adam, wants to be his own god. He wants to make his own decisions, determine his own fate, but in the end, just like everyone who has gone before him, he is laid in a box and covered with dirt. He hasn’t become immortal in the sense that he desired. He hasn’t truly become the master of his fate, because there he is–dead as a doornail, lying in the ground. He has searched, he has strived, he has worked his fingers to the bone, but he never has found the answers, and he has never truly been satisfied with his achievements. More, more, more, I need more. Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
We think things are new. Man has to find some kind of “new” activity and pursuits. Faster, higher, stronger, something to “wow” the crowd. But the desire hasn’t changed. The stoic Roman emperor, Marcu Aurelius, wrote, “They that come after us will see nothing new, and they who went before us saw nothing more than we have seen.” Listen, the face of nature changes, the handiwork of man changes, historical characters come and go from the scene, science even changes though we are told to trust it. How can something be trusted that is always changing?
Let me give you four things that abide:
1) features of human life: labor, sorrow, care, death, struggle, love….
2) typical human characteristics: false, cruel, ambitious, generous, devout….
3) spiritual element: questions of life, purpose, eternity….
4) the truth of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” –Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
As the words of the old song say, “Hold to God’s unchanging hand…” Trust in the Lord and live by His Word–they are never changing. They are secure, safe, and dependable. They will hold you through the changing situations of life, through the storms, and help you answer those great questions of life.