Improve, Remove, and Plant

Ecclesiastes 7:10 hit me square between the eyes when I saw it.  Because seasons of difficulty can most certainly lead to stages of discomfort and discouragement that often lead to retrospect and regret.

And the lamenter may have captured well the advice needed for an embittered spirit when he says the words, “Don’t long for the good old days, this is not wise.”

My commentary calls the attitude of this kind of person to whom this instruction was aimed at, “querulous”, which means = “full of complaints, characterized by or uttered in complaint, peevish, testy, discontent, critical, edgy, fault-finding, grumbling, and irritable.”

And I suppose these are qualifying factors for the one who has no hope.

But what about the Jesus people?
Aren’t we supposed to “be different?”

The chief complaint of the sorrowful soul in this text is that he preferred former days to present ones.  He saw that the best days were behind him, and that the “golden days” for which he viewed now in reverse as “the good old days”, had passed him by.

We find ourselves saying things like,
“I’m not as happy as I once was.”
“I’m not as beautiful as I was at that time.”
“Things were so much better back then.”

And we may hear ourselves saying the words now more than ever, “I wish things were the way they used to be.”  In fact, more than 5 times this past week I have heard the words spoken by others, “Can’t we just get back to normal?”

But yet I wonder if while “looking back” is partially sensible… it doesn’t tell the full story.  That while “looking back” is, in part necessary, the longing to return is not wise.

Why?

Because it tells little more than what was on the surface.  Those days had their problems too.  Those days were filled with conflict and despair also.
Because it sets us in a place of entitlement and misunderstanding of immunity.  All we had and all we have is given from a good Father who knows what we need when we need it.  Perhaps we’ve lost our sense of smallness and and awareness of His greatness.
Because it demonstrates our true heart of hopelessness and distrust for the promises that still lie ahead.

He says to us that, “joy comes in the morning.” (Ps 30:5)
He tells us that, “He will make your paths straight.”  (Prov 3:6)
He will, “guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil 4:7)
He is, “a mighty one who will save.”  And He will, “rejoice over you with gladness”, and “quiet you by His love”, while He, “exhalt(s) over you with loud singing.”  (Zeph 3:17)
He also says that when we commit to the Lord, He will make our, “plans succeed.”  (Prov 16:3)

He is a good Father who sees what has happened, and sees the state of depression you have found yourself in.  He knows that your pining for the return of normalcy is taking up too much of your center stage.

But what if, in this time of forced rest, we considered the ways He wants to grow us and change us and better us.

If you and I would cultivate a right spirit, instead of lamenting over the deficiency of our current condition, and intentioned to fortify ourselves with the resurrected strength we possess as sons and daughters of the King, then perhaps we could find an expectation of favor worth clinging on to.

I would write it in my journal - three things I do have control over at this time… three things I must learn to do in this season instead of the lamenting that fails to advance: improve, remove, and plant.

To improve that which I am capable of reforming.
To remove that which should disappear.
And to plant that which should grow into thriving.

And so I ask myself the difficult questions and take the imperative inventory.  Always the self-preaching first:
What do I need to improve in myself at this time?
What do I need to remove from my life that has to go in order to improve?
What do I need to plant within my soul to stimulate production?

I have the time.
There’s no excuse.
And there’s never been a more significant moment for this kind of marking in all my life.