Embrace those circumstances you can’t control;
for who can correct what God makes crooked?
Be full of joy in times of prosperity;
in bad times consider this:
one is the work of God; the other is too —
and because of this, no one can discover the future.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
If we were to have full control in designing our lives, I don’t think we would put much heartache into the script. I don’t think we would plan hardship, illness, tragedy, or trouble for ourselves. Wouldn’t we plot a life of pure happiness and prosperity? What might that look like for you?
And yet, when you think about it, we often learn the most from our difficult experiences, from our challenges, and from our problems. We learn about ourselves, human nature, others, God, faith, and trust particularly from those life experiences we would probably never choose for ourselves. Can you think of something difficult that you have faced and how you have learned from it? Was there a Christmas past that is shadowed in bad memories? Maybe there are many such experiences for you to look back on and hopefully appreciate given the passage of time. Good times and hard times are both simply part of the fabric of life, and when you think about it, we are the richer for it.
Bad times and good times also provide contrast in life. If everything went well, if everything we did was successful, if we never hit a bump in the road, we could loose our appreciation for the good times, the blessings, the smooth sailing when it comes. So we want to remember that adversity and prosperity give us contrast and deeper appreciation for the scope of life’s journey.
Accepting that hard times and good times are ahead, we position ourselves for both and take what comes with faith and trust. We can’t control everything, so a spirit of acceptance contributes to our making it through the rough patches. As life goes on, we can look back at our good times and bad, and face the future with faith and joy which diminish fear.
To appreciate the joy of this life, we need to expect prosperity and adversity and learn from both.
Prayer
Sometimes we want our lives to be all sunshine and rainbows. But storms come crashing in. Even Jesus faced many challenges in his life, which eventually led to his death. But he did not pray for an easy life. He prayed for God’s will to be done. May that be our prayer as well. May we keep our focus on the joy of life, even appreciating the knowledge and growth that come with hardship. Amen.
The theme for this Advent season at Lakewood United Church of Christ is JOY to the World. Each day during the Advent season, a reflection on a scripture passage related to JOY will be posted. We hope these daily reflections help you to have a joy-filled Advent.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 