Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12, 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7, Ps 47:1-9, Proverbs 22:16
Today is September 3rd. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we continue to move into this week and into this month. A little discombobulated. August went so fast, but here we are, September 3rd. And the next step is right here waiting for us to take. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week and continuing our journey through the book of Ecclesiastes today will read chapters 4 through 6.
Commentary:
Okay. So, this book of Ecclesiastes that we are reading from the pen of the wise King Solomon is a disruptive book to say the least, right? Because we’re experiencing his observations on basically futility, right, the futile experiences of life on earth chasing the wind, the meaninglessness. But honestly though, let’s take a step back. Yes, it’s disruptive because it’s supposed to be disruptive. What Solomon seems to be doing is saying out loud the things that we feel sometimes, but that we don’t say out loud because there seems to be a rub, like this disconnect with all of the famous verses of victory and prosperity for ourselves and the overwhelming love of God, which is a fact. These things are in the Bible. You know, let’s look at where Solomon is coming from. He has experienced it all. He has had nothing really in his path that he didn’t have the resource or the ingenuity to overcome and he’s applied basically this ability to everything in life. He’s explored all of the different ways that people live their lives and he comes to this meaninglessness because we’re all holding onto things that we have to learn to let go of including this life, which is very disruptive, right? Like, to understand okay, slowly, systematically, all the things that I build up to arrange for the life that I’m living, these are all things that I am not taking with me and that I have to let go of, which lets us know that there must be something even deeper to be experienced than all of the things that we run around trying to accumulate in our lives to give it meaning. So, Solomon in so many ways is coming to the conclusion, “enjoy what you have, enjoy your lot in life, be where you are, understand that it’s a gift from God and all of the other stuff that you’re chasing after may, in fact, be meaningless, may in fact be chasing the wind.” So, Solomon made a bunch of observations just in our reading today. So…I mean…like…let’s…let’s just look at a couple of the things that he said today. “I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors, but this is meaningless like chasing the wind.” Right? So, that’s like disruptive. As factual, as true as it might be, that’s disruptive because it makes us take a step back and go, “why am I on the hamster wheel? Like, what is it I am running to or from? Where am I actually going? Am I am motivated in life because I am trying to keep up? But what if there weren’t anything to keep up? Would I then enjoy my lot in life and stop trying to compete in a meaningless competition that doesn’t do anything but make me chase the wind? Solomon also says today, “too much activity gives you restless dreams. Too many words make you a fool.” Right? So, there’s like so much in that sentence alone. Our culture is like an always on, you wake up in the morning, you put your feet on the floor, and you start running until you collapse in bed and you fill yourself with everything you can and then you also try to keep up with the Joneses and you also try to keep up the culture, right, so that you can have relevance to what’s going on in the world. “Too much activity gives you restless dreams. Too many words make you a fool.” In other words, all of this activity and words aren’t helping. We have to create room because we’re walking in circles that are meaningless. According to Ecclesiastes from a reading today, “to enjoy your work and accept your lot in life, this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.” So, like, it…it’s easy enough to just go, “is that what I’m experiencing? Am I like settled? Do I feel satisfied? Have I let go of the things that are pulling me in all kinds of directions that I don’t want to go in anyway? Am I in this unspoken competition with my friends and family and neighbors? Like am I trying…what is the point? And it’s easy to realize that if we are not pressing in deeper with God, which means that we are letting go of the world, then we are moving in circles that are meaningless like chasing the wind.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, we invite You into that this very day because this is huge. It goes all the way to what motivates us to do the things that we do. And in all honesty as we sit with it we realize that we are compelled in many directions that are neither healthy nor helpful they really are like chasing the wind that really are meaningless in the end, and yet we’re on this train and everybody else is on this train and we’re just running, running, running, running and we rarely sit down with the idea that maybe some intentional letting go is what will actually open up space in our lives so that as You said in your word today, You can keep us so busy enjoying life instead of enjoy or attempting to accumulate all of the stuff that we think is going to make us enjoy life. You’ll make us so busy actually enjoying life that there isn’t really a lot of time to brood over the past. Help us with this Lord. There is no way we’re gonna untangle ourselves and achieve this on our own except that it’s relatively easy to move in this direction. It simply requires that we begin to let go. So, come Holy Spirit into all of this we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it’s where you find out what’s happening around here.
And still kind of in the afterglow of the Family Reunion and also just…it’s a lot of work…so it’s kind of to get it all kind of put away and packed. So, many memories. Yeah. It’s gonna…it’s gonna to do my heart good for a long time. It was good to see you all once again and I pray that you’ve reached home safely. It was a joy to be together and until we meet again.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible. If what we do is as a global campfire bringing God’s spoken word to anyone who will listen anywhere on this planet any time of day or night and to let this rhythm build community centered around the Scriptures, if that brings life to you, then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.
And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, you can just press the brand-new Hotline button in the upper pane of the app right next to the Give button or you can dial 87-942-4253.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hello everybody this is Lisa the Encourager. I’m just loving this new red, hot button. It makes it really easy to call in. So, tonight I wanted to call in for Summer and I’m sitting out on my front porch on this beautiful evening and listening to the birds and a few things chirping around me. So, I hope that’s not too distracting, but I am saying all that because I hear Summer from Ohio and I think about what a beautiful name you have to remind us of a beautiful summer day and I just want you to know that you called in with a lot of strife in your past life and a lot of regrets it sounded like, in the way that the children were handled and the way that the ex-husband came in after he had a restraining order and you were going through some really difficult times with your depression. So, summer I just want you to know that you need to look forward and look up because right now there’s nothing gonna change what has happened in the past with the kids or with you. So, today I challenge you to look up and look forward from this point forward because God is with you and I’m going to be praying for you. Dear God please take care of Summer. Help her to realize that You are with her and that You are with her children and her grandchildren and that You will be there as she prays for them and continues to love on them and be a wonderful mother and grandmother God, that You will take care of her and those beautiful children. Help her to rely on You, trust on You, for you have faith in You and call upon Your name over and over and over God. Help her to know and have faith and trust in You that you will be there for her.
Hi DAB this is Jeanette from Denmark. I am calling with thanksgiving. It’s nearly 10 years now that I’ve been listening to the DAB and by husband for three or four. We’re so happy every day that we listen and respond and pray together with our American friends and family in Jesus. We have a prayer request. We have a brother who is suffering. He believes deeply in Jesus, but he’s had a depression he’s suffered against for many years. And right now, he’s in a testing time. Please pray that he would take strength and take a hold of Jesus hand and realize that he’s not just responded to things, that he has a place and having to gather with the Lord and that he can stand strong together with his King that there is nothing that can stand against him, no weapon formed against him shall prosper. Please pray that his child will come home and feel secure and that his wife will be completely rejoicing in renewal. Thank you. Amen.
Hi, this is Rachel __ this is my first-time calling in. I started listening to the Daily Audio Bible around Memorial Day, a little bit before that and I want to let everybody know that I love it. I love the community and I just wanted to give a prayer of thanks. Dear God, I want to thank You for the Daily Audio Bible, Brian and Jill and everyone who’s a part of the team and the family. I want to thank You for this amazing strong community of prayer warriors that is helped to build. God You said that if we ask in the name of Jesus it is your will, our prayers will be answered and if one or more gather in your name that You are there, and You show up in your presence. God, I know that there are many of us listeners who are praying for these requests that are aired, and in that way, we are more than one gathered together. God, I want to thank You for the faith of these Daily Audio Bible members. Together we are strong and new people join and listen every day as we invite our friends and family and others to join and listen to the Daily Audio Bible and they change and grow, and their faith increases. So, I just want to thank You for this community as it grows, and our faith grows, and as we become a presence where we are unstoppable together. So, thank You God for answered prayers. Amen.
Good morning DABbers, this is Kathy in Oregon. I called to request some prayer. I’m going through a difficult time. This morning on my way to work my husband is an alcoholic and things just aren’t going well. We’ve been together for 20 years and I feel like our wagon is driving down into the ditch and I almost started crying when I heard Brian say, “you don’t have to carry this alone.” I’m involved with celebrate recovery. I’m not an alcoholic but trying to figure out what my role in here is. And sometimes I feel pretty alone. There’s not too many people I can reach out to. Just __ . Thank you so much for this opportunity. I hope you have a blessed time. Wish I could be there at the global campfire on the East Coast. But knowing that Jesus is here, He’s with me, He’s gotten me to where I am to today. Thank you for your prayers and thank you for the support and encouragement. I kind of think I’m going in the right direction. Thank you.
Hi, this is Andrew and I’m calling to ask for prayer regarding some difficult situations in my life. I just ask that you all pray for my wisdom and my ability to love and I pray that you…that God may guide us to have broken contrite hearts ready and soft for confession, repentance, and new beginnings. Thank you for the Daily Audio Bible. Listen to it every day for several months now. It’s been my root for my devotionals and helps me be grounded in the daily hustle and bustle. Thank you.