Security

February 10, 2008 - Sunday
Current mood: breezy

There are certain things in life you can always count on.

Regardless of whether Puxatony Phil sees his shadow, February 3rd is still really cold.

Orange Juice, when consumed directly after brushing one's teeth, will always be the most disgusting taste one can experience at 7:00 in the morning.

When faced with the likes of Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, or that big mean dog, Bugs Bunny will always prevail.

Wal-Mart will always have approximately 4 lanes open, out of 57, despite the number of people who complain.

These things in life are constant. They stay the same. And some of them may be uncomfortable or unpleasant, but they still, in whatever strange way, make us feel a little more secure. Like the world is the way it should be.

But there are other things in life that aren't so dependable.

I've been dealing a lot lately with insecurity. Maybe not so much insecurity about myself and my appearance (well....perhaps a little, but that's not the crux of the issue), but more of an insecurity about the future.

I wonder if I'm destined for a life of perpetual loneliness, or whether people think I have everything handed to me because I am employed by my parents.

On a daily basis, it seems a throng of questions race through my mind. Will I ever get married? Should I move back to Tennessee? Am I happy in Illinois? What do I want to do for a career? Should I go back to school? What areas am I lacking in? What aspects of my life need more discipline? How am I ever going to conquer this situation?

And I contemplate. And I worry. And I process. But these thoughts never seem to leave me. I am plauged with them.

Every
Single
Day

As I think about this struggle for security in my life, a few Scriptures come to mind. I know that realistically, if I put the citations down here, most people won't go and look them up...I wish you would, but I know you probably won't. Prove me wrong.
Isaiah 55:8-9
Proverbs 3:5-6
Matthew 6:25-34
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

The last selection of Scripture is one that is very dear to my heart. Most people know the beginning of this verse. It's the portion of the Bible that was made into that 70's song. For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven...etc. What most people don't understand, though, is that when you read the book of Ecclesiastes, the remainder of the book is quite cynical.

Solomon (the author of the Ecclesiastes), was the wisest and wealthiest man in the world at this time. In this book, he is playing the part of an Aristotle, or a Socrates. He is a philosopher who is deeply troubled by what he sees in the world around him. In this book, we see one phrase repeated several times: "under the sun". When Solomon says "under the sun", he is referring to worldly things. The earth is under the sun. Solomon is speaking of the secular, the earthly, that which is apart from God. Solomon finds great despair in the fact that everyone toils under the sun, day in and day out....and all for nothing. This world is going to disappear and fade away.

Everything that is 'under the sun' will one day be no more.

Solomon, and his book of Ecclesiastes are actually rather bleak. But, in the middle of the book we can find Solomon's answer. His glimmer of hope. His light at the end the tunnel.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-15 (ESV) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil -- this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that poeple fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

I love this Scripture. In fact, I love it so much that I got a portion of it tattooed on my body.

This, to me, is the essence of life.

Here, Solomon is saying that in all of our toil, in all of our worries and insecurities, God has made everything beautiful in its time. God has set eternity on our hearts, so that we always know there's something more. But he has not played it out for us completely, simply because, we're not supposed to know the future. God has always been God, and He always will be. We need to sit back, live our lives, and enjoy ourselves. We can't allow ourselves to get caught up in insecurity and questions all the time. God is God, and he has made everything (EVERYTHING, me, my job, my spouse, my future, my house) beautiful in its time.

I caught part of an episode of Seinfeld the other day. The main storyline in the episode is that Jerry discovers that nothing truly bad ever happens to him. Whenever something troublesome comes along, Jerry realizes that "it all works out in the end." I think this is essentially what Solomon is getting at. Why let all that worry weigh you down? It all works out in the end.

Lighten up and enjoy your life.

I hope reading this blog has helped some of my readers who, like me, get caught up in the details of life. I know writing it and reviewing the Word of God has been a much-needed self-therapy session for me.

I just have to remind myself that I love God, God loved me first. God will provide. And the rest is just details.

So what if I don't know what I want to be when I grow up? I already am grown up! Why does my career have to define who I am? And who cares if I can't make a decision about Tennessee or Illinois? I should just be happy and live the fullest life wherever I am.

I wonder if there will ever come a day "under the sun" when my life will be so full, my heart so content, that I won't have any room for worry. Probably not, but I can look forward to the future, when I am in the presence of the One who made everything beautiful in its time, and I can thank Him for providing for me.

May we find security in knowing that we don't have all the answers in life. And may we put our futures in the hands of a God who has made and will make everything beautiful in its time.


Currently listening : Pages By Shane & Shane Release date: 28 August, 2007