How do we handle bad times better?

We will walk through this passage today. There were some handouts of the Text today. Let me encourage you to mark up the verses and circle key words. I have never felt the desire and need to just show you the Word and try to help give an understanding than I have in this series.

In this life filled with many different seasons the wise will trust God doing the good days and hard seasons of life.

Bible Reading: Ecc 6:10-7:14

Three sections 6:10-12, 7:13-14

Introduction

The CookOut Analogy:

Think of a CookOut where you can mix and match diverse foods—even a corndog with a side of corndog.We appreciate diversity in our food; similarly, the Bible offers a rich diversity in its literary forms.Note: We sometimes crave variety (we can’t have the same pizza every Friday night).

Varied Literary Forms in Scripture:

Historical Accounts: Records of God’s interaction with His people.

Poetry: Expressive and emotive language revealing spiritual truths.

Narrative: Stories that illustrate God’s work in history.

Prophecy: Messages and warnings from God.

Apocalyptic Literature: Visions of the end times and divine revelation.

Modes of Communication:

God Speaking: The majority of the Bible is God addressing humanity.

Human Responses to God:

Psalms: Prayers and songs addressing God.

Job: A dialogue of lament and questioning directed at God.

Wisdom Literature: Books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, though inspired by God, feature human reflections and practical advice for everyday life.

Recognize and appreciate the variety in how Scripture communicates profound and relevant truth.

Recap of the First Half

The first half was in Ecclesiastes 1 verse 12 after the introduction in the first 11 verses, all the way through to chapter 6 verse 9.”

Question in the Opening Section“And in that opening section we saw the question, what is good for people to do?”

Repetition of a Key Phrase: “vanity of vanities”

Final Occurrence of the Phrase: Last occurence in 6:9

Transition to the Second Half

Scope of the Second Half: 6:10 - 11:6

Key Questions in the Second Half

Ecclesiastes 6:10“10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”

“Who knows what is good for a mortal to do during their few and meaningless days?”

“Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they're gone?”

Reflection on Meaninglessness

Look at the uses in this passage; v.

Remember that in the book of Ecclesiastes, Mr Teacher is giving us an under the sun perspective.

What does wisdom really look like?

Review from what we have seen so far in chapter 6

Solomon has examined two dead-end pursuits here in ch. 6

Richest without enjoyment. 6:1-6

Labor without satisfaction. 6:7-9

We can have joy but it it will not be sought and found, but received as a gift from God as we trust Him with out lives.

Now Solomon identifies a third category of those who struggle with life:

3. Questions without answers. 6:10-12

I. There are times when life is especially difficult to navigate.

Hard times, can lead us to some dark thoughts.

1. Nothing we do really matters, it is all predetermined. v. 10a

Ecclesiastes 6:10 “10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”

2. There isn’t much point in talking to God. (v. 10b)

Ecclesiastes 6:10 “10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”

3. No matter what I do or get nothing seems to make things better. (v. 11)

Ecclesiastes 6:11 “11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?”

4. No one really even knows what makes a good life. (v. 12a)

Ecclesiastes 6:12 “12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”

5. Life is empty because we don’t know what is next (v. 12b)

Ecclesiastes 6:12 “12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”

Transition: Ecclesiastes 6:10–12 sets up the tension: No one knows what is good for them, but in adversity, there are things that are “better.” This morning, we will explore three of them.

II. Wisdom teaches us how to navigate life in the storms of life.

Much of what we see looks like commentary on the Ecc 3 poem that spoke of seasons.

Notice the theme of “better” throughout this passage.

v.1 A good name is better than precious ointment

v.2 t is better to go to the house of mourning

v.3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

v.5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,

v.8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning

v. 8 the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

v.10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?

A. The value of sorrow

1. Mourning is a better teacher than celebration

Ecclesiastes 7:1–2“1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.”

Why? Because funerals remind us of life’s brevity and the need to live wisely.Psalm 90:12 “12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Why is this so? Because death is the destiny of everyone.

All funerals, unlike birthday parties have the same theme.

Remember our mortality.

“The living should take this to heart.”

2. Sorrow produces more wisdom than laughter

Ecclesiastes 7:3–4“3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Hard seasons force us to slow down and reflect.They push us toward God rather than distractions.

Instead of avoiding pain, allow it to refine your character and deepen your faith.

Notice the strong emphasis on taking this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:2“2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.”

Ecclesiastes 7:3“3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”

Ecclesiastes 7:4“4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

2. The value of rebuke

A. Wise rebuke Is more valuable than foolish praise.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 “5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

Nathan rebuking David (2 Sam. 12:7–13)

We tend to avoid criticism, but wisdom embraces correction.

B. How you end is more important than how you start.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 “8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Ill. Decided to run the 5K in Honor of Allison Clapp with Ty Pepperdine.

We don’t always see the purpose of suffering in the moment, but God is working toward a good end.

Joseph’s life—what seemed like misfortune (being sold, imprisoned) was actually God’s plan (Gen. 50:20).

C. Patience Is better than anger

Ecclesiastes 7:9 “9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”

Anger often arises in hard seasons, but patience allows us to trust in God's plan.

The Israelites constantly complained about their hardships instead of trusting God.

D. We need to stop living off of the past.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 “10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.”

Nostalgia can blind us to the ways God is working in the present. / Good old days

Trust that God is working now, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

The can also be “good ol’ days” if we will trust God and live according to his wisdom.

3. The value of hard times in the pursuit of wisdom

The role of hard times as teachers

The bad times of death, he's saying actually they are a really good teacher.

The bad times of being rebuked are a better teacher.

Wisdom like an inheritance is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.Ecclesiastes 7:11“11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.”

Wisdom preserves the life of those who have them. Ecclesiastes 7:12“12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”   

III. What do we need to consider during our hard seasons?

The two sections on both sides that help us to understand the middle section more fully.

A. We are called upon to consider the work of God in our lives

Ecclesiastes 7:13“13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”

Question: “Who can make straight what he has made crooked?”

Answer: No one. We must trust Him.

We should consider His worthiness to be trusted.

Remember those hard questions at the beginning. When we read them you may have felt God was absent, even though He was not being named He certainly was not absent.

God is active in naming the seasons. Ecclesiastes 6:10“10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”

God is the Someone who is stronger. Ecclesiastes 6:10“10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”

God is the Someone who knows things? Ecclesiastes 6:12“12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”

God is the one who can tell what will happen after they are gone. Ecclesiastes 6:12“12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”

From our perspective, under the sun, we don't know how to make things any better but God does. Ecclesiastes 6:11“11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?”

Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God Himself walks with us in the fire.

B. Our God is worthy of our trust in every season

Prescribed response to good times. Ecclesiastes 7:14“14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.”

When times are good, be happy.

Easy enough, any question? (As we have seen it is not easy, it is a gift from God to enjoy life)

Prescribed response to bad times. Ecclesiastes 7:14“14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.”

Consider this, God arranges both side by side.

time to be born and an appointed time to die

time to laugh and the time to mourn

Do not be guilty of having two gods in your life.

The one you love on the good days

The one you cannot trust on the hard days

Life’s hardships remind us that we cannot explain everything:

Illness and death of loved ones

Injustice and oppression

Persistent, deep-seated pain in the soul

There are hard days that serve to teach us.

Lessons learned in the house of mourning.

Insights gained through the rebuke of others.

The importance of choosing patience over pride.

Living in the present while looking forward to the future.

C. Consider what we know of God’s ability to redeem hard days from what we know of Jesus

The gospel

Bad news: We are all sinners separated from God.

Followed by worst news: There is nothing we can do to take care of our sin problem.

Followed by good news: Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Followed by the best news: God’s forgiveness and eternal life is a free gift, and all we have to do is receive it.

2 Timothy 1:10 “10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”

The God on whom we rely knows what suffering is all about—not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience.

We now have two options for Responding to Life’s Hardships

Option 1: Escapism

Fleeing reality to numb pain and avoid problems.

Partying excessively.

Laughing as loudly and as often as possible.

Drinking to oblivion.

Living in the past or in a make-believe world rather than embracing the present.

Option 2: Receiving Wisdom (as presented in Ecclesiastes 7)

Living wisely in God’s world amid brokenness.

Recognizing that even wisdom does not provide all the answers.

Embracing the mystery and limitations of life as a wise approach.

We will only learn some of the most wonderful lessons of life when we look to our God with trust in the the hardest seasons of life.

Closing Prayer

Praying for those who are learning to trust during these hard times.

“You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”

Ask for the strength to live faithfully until the day when all sorrow and mourning will be no more, and our tears wiped away.

One day there won't be a house of mourning to go to.

There won't be any need to be rebuked.

There will be no hard times to learn lessons in.

Our tears would have been wiped away.”

The bad and the sad will be a thing of the past.”

They'll no longer be struggling with anger or struggling with being a fool.”

We're longing for that day and we need to pray that God would give us the wisdom in this day to live in a way that is pleasing to him when times are good, being happy, enjoying those times when times are bad, trusting him, knowing that He is in control, and one day we'll be with him.

Occasionally, we weep deeply over the life we hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash our faces. Trust God. And embrace the life we have.