The Practicality of Faith

By William R. Cunningham
August 12, 2007

INTRODUCTION

What does faith in God look like?  We have heard many times that we should have faith in God.  We are told to trust God and to depend on God.  For example, Proverbs 3:5-6 we find the instructions to trust God with all of our heart and to lean on Him instead of our own understanding.  Jesus told us to “Have faith in God” in Mark 11:22.  In many other places in the Bible we find the instruction to trust God or to have faith in God.  However, what does that mean?  What does it mean to have faith in God and how do I implement this faith in my normal every day life?  What would you tell someone to do in order to have faith or practice faith in God?  The answer to that question is the topic of this sermon.

We know that life offers a plethora of circumstances, conditions, and results.  It also offers opportunity, success, and failure.  How can we “use faith” to ensure that we will have success?  How can I know what will prosper or what God wants me to do so that I would prosper?  Life is so diverse, sometimes predictable, and sometimes uncertain.  How can we know what to do?  Where does faith abide in the normal every day life of a person?

We are going to look at one of the greatest books in the Bible pertaining to the practical aspects of life and the application of spiritual principles.  That book is Ecclesiastes.  I read Ecclesiastes many years ago and it changed my life.  No longer was the path of life a guaranteed success.  No longer was there a mode of operation where I simply followed the voice of God in my head that I would be successful.  Life just doesn’t work that way so I needed to know what the real deal is.  That is when God began to teach me about life as a human being on the planet Earth.  Life isn’t a defined journey that I control.  God controls all things, but I really don’t know what God is doing.  That is what we need to come to grips with and that is one of the things we are going to discuss.  Our lesson will come from Ecclesiastes 11:1-6.

SCRIPTURE TEXT

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (NKJV) " {1} Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. {2} Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. {3} If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. {4} He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. {5} As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. {6} In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. "
The first thing that I would like to do is to determine what the author wrote in the above scripture.  We are going to make a critical analysis of this scripture so that we would first understand what the author really wrote and then we could arrive at an accurate interpretation and application of that data.  So let’s begin with verse one.

Verse 1

Ecclesiastes 11:1 (NKJV) " {1}Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. "
This verse has at least two interpretations, which are given below.

1. Be generous and you will have provisions when you need them.
2. Pursue business ventures and you will find some success.

This verse of scripture has traditionally been thought to refer to generosity to others.  It is believed that if you are generous to others then you will have provision when something goes wrong in your life.  The reason some think this is the proper interpretation is because of similarity with an Egyptian proverb (The Instruction of Ankhsheshongy) that says, “Do a good deed and throw it in the river; when it dries up you shall find it.” This is similar to saying, “What goes around comes around.”

The second interpretation refers to business ventures that would hopefully bring success or a good return on the investment and risk.  This interpretation is probably the best based on the context of this scripture, though it does not preclude the fact that we should be generous.  In particular, it would not be surprising that Solomon is referring to merchant ships traveling overseas to trade goods in hopes of a prosperous venture.  That phrase might be paraphrased as “Send out your grain in ships.” (From “Be Satisfied” by Warren W. Wiersbe).

There is something intrinsic to the aforementioned advice. Sure we should pursue ventures that will bring some success, but that implies that we have to do something.  What are you willing to do in order to succeed?  Are you willing to work and make sacrifices with regards to your time?  Are you really ready to take action and actively pursue the things that will bring you to where you want to be?

I personally believe in knowledge.  I believe that we should have as much knowledge as possible with regards to those things that interest us or are urgent in our lives.  If you want to increase your income then what are you willing to do to obtain that goal?  Are you willing to investigate the options that are available for you to increase your income legally?  Are you willing to educate yourself to accomplish the goals that you set?  It’s one thing to plan and dream and it is another thing to take action.  So cast the bread on the waters indeed!

Verse 2

Ecclesiastes 11:2 (NKJV) "{2} Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. "
This verse implies a spreading of one’s resources over several ventures and not putting all of the risk on one venture.  That is, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”  Consider the following quote from the Bible Knowledge Commentary.

Solomon noted that people are as ignorant of God’s providential dealings in human affairs (cf. 3:11; 8:17) as they are of “the path of the wind” and the formation of a baby in its “mother’s womb” (11:5). Moreover, people do not know which of their ventures “will succeed” (v. 6) or what calamities might come on the earth (v. 2) and wipe out the results of their work. Even so, people should engage in diligent, active labor. Like the benefits that come from the seafaring trade of foodstuffs, so active involvement in business gives a promise of some return (v. 1; cf. 1 Kings 9:26-28; 10:22; Ps. 107:23 for references to maritime trade). But in view of the possibility of disaster a person should make prudent investments in numerous ventures (to seven, yes to eight) rather than put all his “eggs in one basket” (Ecc. 11:2; cf. Gen. 32:7-8 for a practical example of this advice). The NEB accurately reflects this interpretation of Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, “Send your grain across the seas, and in time you will get a return. Divide your merchandise among seven ventures, eight maybe, since you do not know what disasters may occur on earth.

The point here is to be diligent with labor during your life and to spread your resources over many ventures.  Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.  I believe that this applies to any venture that we may pursue.  Investigate alternatives instead of putting all of your hope in one option.

Verse 3

Ecclesiastes 11:3 (NKJV) "{3} If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. "

Simply said, “Things are the way they are.”  If the clouds are “full of rain” then it will rain.  That’s the way it is.  If a tree falls to the ground then it has fallen and it will lie where it fell.  That’s the way it is.  “C’est la vie” (that’s life).  Life is full of situations, circumstances, and opportunities.  That’s just the way it is and we should simply accept that and take appropriate actions.  One thing is clear and that is that life is uncertain.  We don’t know what God is doing and we don’t know what the future holds.  Therefore, we should take steps to enjoy our lives and prepare for the future accordingly.

You don’t know what will happen tomorrow so don’t worry about it. Sure we can plan for tomorrow, but I think it is just as important to enjoy today.  Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow because it will have enough issues of its own.  We have enough things to be concerned about today.  It is what it is.  Do your best to enjoy your life and deal with the things that life throws at you.

Verse 4

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NKJV) "{4 He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. "

Simply said, “Procrastination will lead to no return.”  Inactivity will produce nothing.  Sometimes we want the conditions to be just right before we take action.  Things must line up a certain way before we do anything.  People like that will simply be found doing nothing at any time.  Of course wisdom should always be active, but that doesn’t mean that things will be “perfect” before we take action.

My pastor told me a long time ago that when God presents an opportunity to you that you should jump at it.  This assumes that you have been active and are ready for the opportunity and it presupposes that you have a sufficient relationship with God that you would recognize him moving in the circumstances of your life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Verse 5

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NKJV) "{5} As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. "

We do not know for certain what the future holds.  Only God knows the future and we do not know what He is doing at any given time.  We do not know the future.  I am amused when I watch the weather reports on television or listen to them on the radio.  Though the science of meteorology is getting more precise, the fact is that no human can say certainly what will happen in the future in regards to the weather.  How many times were the weather reports inaccurate?  The weather will do what it does depending on any number of conditions.  The fact still remains that we do not know the future even though various fields of science would have you believe that they can tell you the future with certainty.

Verse 6

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (NKJV) "{6} In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. "

Don’t be found doing nothing.  The phrase, “In the morning sow your seed” refers to the act of ventures that would produce a return on the risk or activity.  The phrase, “do not withhold your hand” refers to be active and not being idle.  Do something, many things, and always work to make them successful.

LESSONS LEARNED

The lessons that we have learned from Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 could be summarized as follows.

1. We do not know how God works or what he is doing
2. We do know what the future will bring to us
3. We should actively pursue ventures that would produce a return
4. We should spread our pursuits (resources) over several ventures as not to put all of our eggs in one basket so to speak
5. Things happen and we should accept them and deal with them since we can’t turn back the clock and we cannot predict the future.
6. Be doing something instead of being idle.  Actively pursue success.

The Application of Faith

It might not be apparent at first, but the lessons learned here is the application of true faith in the life of a Christian.  How is that?  First of all, in pursuing success and your dreams you assume that you will succeed and you assume that God will prosper something in your life.  You simply don’t know what God is going to do and how He is going to operate in your life.  So through wisdom you embark on several ventures to produce a harvest.

The key here is work.  Success does not come from inactivity.  Prosperity comes from work, which God blesses to produce.  A sower sows his seed and nurtures it, but it is the power of God that the seed grows and produce fruit. 

True faith is simply depending on God to take care of you and to provide for you.  You don’t know how He will do it or where your provisions will come from.  However, you do know that God will come through for you.  You do know that God will bless the works of your hand (See Psalms 1:1-3).  You assume that God will prosper you.  You know that things will not always work out the way you hoped that they would, but you continue to pursue success anyway knowing that God will prosper your efforts.

I should say here that we cannot preclude the relationship with God.  God is not a magician in the sky or a grocery store that we only go to when we want something.  Faith in God assumes that there is a relationship with Him and an association with His word in your heart and mind.  I should point out that Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 is not exclusive to Christians.  It is more of a principle of life because it works for Christians and non-Christians.  The benefit of the Christian is that we can assume that God will take care of us because our hope is not in self.  Those who are not Christians do not necessarily put their hope and trust in God.  The world system is a system of self-dependency, which will lead us further away from God and his provision.

So we see the whole lesson is founded on faith in God.  For without God we would have no confidence in anything that we do.  There would be no reason to assume that we would succeed.  However, with God we have the confidence of God’s provision and that what we do will succeed.  That is the faith aspect here.  We assume that something we do will indeed succeed.

CONCLUSION

What are you doing with your life?  Are you pursuing your dreams or are you just going along day after day with no direction?  Take action now and begin to do something.  Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.  Pursue something that you would enjoy and then pursue something else (not necessarily at the same time).  We have the confidence that God will care for us else what would be the point in doing anything? 

Some believe that if they merely confess the things that they wanted then they would have it.  The Bible does not teach us that.  The Bible reveals to us that if we work then God will bless our labor.  As a matter of fact, the gift of God is that we enjoy our labor (Ecclesiastes 2:24).

Life is grand so enjoy it!  It is hard to enjoy life if you do nothing.  Life is an adventure so enjoy the thrill of it!  Be happy in what you do and find happiness in your life.  Life is truly a gift, but you have to make the best of it.