Eccl 3:14-15 (NIV) I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

• I know that everything God does will endure forever: Jesus, help me be one of these who know this and are glad about it; and, help me not be one of those who know it and hate it. If I find myself knowing things about God that agitate, frustrate, or depress me, empower me to take them to You. If I start getting negative feelings toward God then the attitudes and philosophies of Solomon are starting to creep into my heart. I may be feeling this way because my body is wanting to do something and God won’t allow it. The world may be giving me philosophies that I am listening to. Or, Satan may be lying to me and I think it is me thinking it.


• Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it: Jesus, help me understand that it is true that God is inflexible. Since He is already perfect, any change He would make would be wrong. Show me that it isn’t in my best interest to change God’s mind about something I want. And, it isn’t in my best interest to do it anyway. Help me always remember that God loves me more than I love myself. God knows everything and takes everything into consideration before He directs me. Help me not try to add anything or take away anything from Who God wants to be in my life.


• God does it so that men will revere Him: Jesus, show me that there are two ways of looking at this. There is the Solomon way and there is the TRUTH way. I can think that God needs my reverence and is manipulating and pressuring me into feeling that way. Or, I need to revere God so I will see that His ways are the ways that work in real life. Help always believe that God’s ways produce true happiness in my marriage, family, friendships, career, business, and life in general. But, help me understand that if I don’t revere Him, I won’t yield to His ways.


• Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before: Jesus, I was able to see through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, that life wasn’t just some repetitious circle. I saw how God was progressively leading them into their part of the big picture. Through God’s orchestration, He was developing a nation that was trained and empowered to live righteous lives. Through His commandments, He showed them what to do so they could treat each other with fairness, justice, and love. Help me see that as they gradually developed, God finally got a woman, Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother, to agree to let the Holy Spirit put Jesus in her womb.
  
  Jesus, help me see that as Solomon stepped out of God’s plan and was no longer listening to Him, it made him blind to spiritual things. Show me how his blindness kept him from seeing how his building the Temple helped the children of Israel to settle into a worship of God. Rather than them admiring, being impressed with, and falling into the trap of false god’s, they had the very best Temple in existence. Help me realize that his blindness kept him from seeing that God wanted him to teach these people and lead them into godliness. He didn’t understand that all that wisdom could be used for getting the people ready for bringing the Messiah down to earth. He just saw what he liked and wanted.


• God will call the past to account: Jesus, Solomon had already said that God laid a heavy burden on mankind. He had already said that God put him in a life that was meaningless and a chasing after the wind. Help me realize that because he sees God in this light, he sees an unfair God making us accountable for failing at a life that we couldn’t help failing at. Show me that without God’s truth pouring into my life, I won’t be able to resist these kinds of thoughts either. I am getting a wonderful opportunity to be led by You into the greatness of God.
  
  Heb 1:3 (NIV) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Jesus, You demonstrated God’s feelings for me by giving up Your positions, place, and comfort and coming to earth to die. Rom 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Eccl 3:18-19 (NIV) I also thought, “As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. Jesus, help me know that Solomon developed this opinion himself; show me that he has no Biblical basis for saying this. Gen 2:7 (NIV) the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

2 Cor 5:1 (NIV) Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Jesus, I know we don’t die like animals because Your words are more powerful and true than Solomon’s. 2 Cor 5:8 (NIV) We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Teach me that God cares a lot for me and my eternal destiny because He made me in His own image.

Eccl 4:1-3 (NIV) Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed-- and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors-- and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

Jesus, help me keep in mind that this was a king that had unlimited resources, power, and wisdom. He saw the tears of the oppressed, he saw they have no comforter, he saw that the power was on the side of their oppressors, and all he could come up with was that they would be better off dead. Help me take all those things You give me so I can take good care of the people under my care. Help me not give up truth so I can resist all the debilitating evil that comes into my life. Teach me that it doesn’t matter how much wealth I have if I don’t have God and His truth. Let me use all the resources you give me to help the oppressed.

Eccl 4:8 (NIV) There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless-- a miserable business! Since Solomon believes the same thing, Jesus, show me that he can’t help the man. Mat 15:14 (NIV) Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Solomon’s wisdom led him into blindness.

Jesus, help me not turn inward and start only seeing things from my perspective so my world won’t collapse in on me. If I concentrate on myself, I can’t feel the needs of those around me. If I can’t feel their needs, exchange of benefits becomes difficult. I need others to help me get my needs met and they need me to help them. Help me be able to identify with other people’s needs. Help me do more than only be able to let them know what I need. Show me that, that would close down any win/win situations. If I can’t do more, these people will have to move on to others.

Mat 7:12 (NIV) So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Jesus, teach me that love, care, compassion, and win/win situations start with my needs. Show me that it is a simple process of realizing that those around me feel like I do. I have needs; they have needs. I have feelings; they have feeling. I want love and respect; they want love and respect. I don’t want to be cheated; they don’t want to be cheated. Help me allow my eyes to start looking around me. Let Matthew 7:12 help me move into the world of win/win situations.