"THINK WHAT IT MEANS?"

Ecclesiastes 7:14              (Contemporary English Version)

"When times are good, you should be cheerful; when times are bad, "THINK WHAT IT MEANS".  GOD makes them both to keep us from knowing what will happen next."

Hebrews 10: 37-38 

“GOD is coming soon!  It won’t be very long.  The people GOD accepts will live BECAUSE OF THEIR FAITH.  But HE isn't pleased with anyone who turns back!"  

There are times in life when you wonder what it is you did wrong to bring about GOD's wrath or disfavor?  Every possible thing that could go right turns into something going what we perceive as wrong and bringing hurt with it!  But consider the times when things are going well.  My inclination is to accept the "good times" as the way they should be.  When things start making me uncomfortable, I begin to try to change my surroundings to bring about different results.   

ALL SCRIPTURE is inspired by GOD (2 Timothy 3:16).  We cannot pick and choose verses that don't seem to forward our agenda or desires.  "When times are good" we tend to not rely on GOD near as much, as we want to relish in prosperity.  But "when things are bad" we want to analyze what we could have done to avoid some of the trials we are experiencing.  When others are going through hard times we also have a tendency to want to blame their difficult times on some "bad choices" in their past.  While it is true we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), I am one who has to beg for GOD's grace when my seeds are germinating!  The bad times may come every now and then to grow us?

"If you didn't earn your salvation, how are you going to un-earn it" is a quote I recently saw from author Timothy Keller.  GOD provides us with so much favor that we aren't even aware of.  Yet, HE is also there for us when we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalms 23:4).   There are things we experience in our lives that others may never experience.  GOD has a plan for EACH of our lives.  We must remain FAITHFUL to HIM as we complete our journey, regardless of the "good" or "bad" we experience.  It is said that while sunshine is needed to grow crops, they GROW the most at night when it is dark!

There are times when things are not going to be real favorable in our lives, or the lives of those in our midst.  Sometimes we may be placed in those difficult times to draw us closer to GOD.  Many years ago I was instructed to "Glean everything you can out of those (bad) times, as you don't want to have to experience them again"!  "THINK WHAT IT MEANS" may be another way of saying that?