Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”

July 14th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

When Solomon said, “Whatever your hand finds to do,” he was acknowledging that there is always work to be done. Charles Spurgeon said, “One good deed is worth more than a thousand brilliant theories.” This challenges us to grab hold of the ordinary responsibilities of each day and simply make sure they get done. It’s easy for most of us to live in a dreamland of “maybe tomorrow” or “someday” we’ll get around to doing the things we need to do. But none of us is guaranteed tomorrow; we only have today. We can’t go back and relive yesterday, correcting its mistakes. How much better to simply take this day in-hand and “do it with [our] might,” rather than waste hours dreaming about what we would rather be doing.

Not only are we to do whatever lies close at hand, but we are to do it with gusto. Our forefathers, the Puritans, used the word earnestness to describe how believers should approach life. They meant that whatever we do, we should do it heartily, with enthusiasm, with passion, with zeal, and with 100% commitment. Reformer Martin Luther said, “A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God. If your job is shoveling manure, than do your best and shovel that manure for the glory of God.” Luther’s point was that if we do our jobs well, each day, we honor God just as much as the brain surgeon extending someone’s life. Everyone struggles with this idea because our culture tries to convince us that some jobs matter more than others.

Solomon’s ending, “in the grave where you are going,” underscores the fact that the chances of facing mortality are an overwhelming 100%; it was during Solomon’s time and it still is today. Even though none of us want to hear that we are going to the grave, it is a fact we all need to face. Pretending it isn’t true or simply ignore it, won’t keep it from happening. This life is not a dress rehearsal. We only get one chance to do whatever we’re going to do here on planet earth. Our moment in the sun will be over sooner than most of us care to admit. So we who serve God, should attempt something so great for Him today that it is doomed to failure unless He is in it.

“LORD, we desire to be used by You to change this generation, so we surrender to Your will for us this day.”