Daily Reflections
Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11
Here’s the thing about following God: bad, difficult, challenging, terrible and sometimes tragic events and situations can overwhelm and impact our lives. There can be a naive assumption that bad things don’t happen to good people but only to bad people. In the cold light of day we know this is nonsense, but it can be an undercurrent in our thinking and a reason why, when horrible and awful events and situations overtake us, we give in to despair and become angry with God.
Wanting to spare us this heartbreak, the sage offers us the benefit of his wisdom – the wisdom of the inspired Word of God. He is under no illusion that if we set out to serve the Lord we need to prepare ourselves for trials and hardship. We could say that it comes with the territory. He counsels a resignation to God’s will and an acceptance of all that comes our way, sure in the knowledge that God is with us and that he is not vindictive or uncaring but rather full of compassion and loving kindness, and in our time of distress gives us strength and salvation.
Of course, in the heat of battle, when our trials are intense or debilitating, we can find ourselves giving in to the temptation to think that God does not care and that it makes no difference whether we follow God or not, whether we do the right thing or not. In the New Testament, especially in the Letter of James, we see a radical approach to trials and hardship – we could call this the logic of the kingdom. In his letter to Christians who were undergoing intense persecution, James writes: ‘Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials’ (1:2). This is the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Suffering of any kind, when approached and embraced correctly, in the power of the Spirit, builds our character, producing the godly quality of perseverance in us. Interestingly, James counsels his readers to ask God for wisdom because in the midst of our suffering and hardship this is clearly what we need more than anything else: ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him’ (1:5).
Lord, in faith I ask for the gift of wisdom, without doubting but full of hope and joy that you give good gifts to your children.
Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 • Psalm 36(37):3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
Mark 9:30-37
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