A Spectacle Of Glory #35

Read: Ecclesiastes 11:1, ESV

King Solomon wrote, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” What did he mean? Here’s how I read it: When God gives you some extraordinary blessing, don’t clutch it with a white-knuckled grip, or you may destroy the very thing that makes it a blessing to you. The poet William Blake wrote, “He who binds to himself a joy, does the winged life destroy; but he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sunrise.”^a

Hold life’s blessings loosely. Be thankful for the people, places, and situations God brings into your life today, but also be willing to let the blessings go, should God choose to take them away. One day He will return what He has removed—or replace it with something better.

Lord, I have lost much in life, but I have gained more. And what I have lost isn’t really lost; it’s just gone ahead of me. Help me to cling to You, the Giver, rather than to the beautiful gifts You’ve given me in Your kindness and love. With Your help, I open my hands and release my grip.