See at the Sea

Daily Reading: Ecclesiastes 1

All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. (Ecclesiastes 1.7a)

Devotional Thought: Most scholars agree that King Solomon, the wise son of David, was the author of Ecclesiastes, a book of Jewish "wisdom literature" which should be read poetically - not historically - and understood as principles - not promises.

I love what Solomon wrote in chapter 1, verse 7: "All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full."  I thought about some of the seas that never are full...

·       The sea of God's love.  God's love is a boundless ocean ready to receive one more sinner.  As the old hymn says, "Though millions have come, there is still room for one.  There is room at the cross for you."

·       The sea of God's forgetfulness.  Micah 7.19 says that God will throw our sins into the depths of the sea, where they will never again be brought before the remembrance of God.  The blood of Jesus washes our sins into that sea!

·       The seas of obstacles.  The Hebrew children saw the Red Sea as an obstacle, but God saw it as an opportunity to display his awesome power.  God pours his grace and power into that sea which is never too full for us to cross!

·       The seas of possibilities.  Psalm 104.25 says, "Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great."  The mysteries and wonders of life are inexhaustible.  Life is an adventure in the infinite creativity of God!

Let's go down to the sea and see the mighty wonders of our God!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the streams that flow through my life.  Some are good and pleasant while others are hard and sad.  Thank you that all of them end up in the ocean of your love.  Help me see the wonders of your mighty love.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 10.1-11

1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God. ”

5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity. ”

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it. ”