Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Fighting Analysis Paralysis | The Writings | Ecclesiastes 11

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

Do you ever find yourself in analysis paralysis? Does your anxiety take over when decisions need to be made? Has analyzing your future led you to inaction in God's Kingdom? In today's episode, Jensen looks at Ecclesiastes 11, inviting us to trust the good news that God is in control of our future. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Ecclesiastes 11

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. I have a confession to make. Occasionally, I bribe my toddler. See, his favorite form of bribery is whenever we go to Target to run errands, if he listens really well and if he's kind to his sister in the cart, then on our way out, he gets to pick out a hot wheel.

Turns out, while Jude does need a good deal of encouragement to make good choices, when a hot wheel is on the table, he pulls it together real fast. And in return, we end up being frequent visitors to the Hot Wheels aisle in Target. See, I've got that aisle memorized, and not just because we go often, but because the amount of time we spend staring at the wall of Hot Wheels. Now, if you don't have a toddler who loves Hot Wheels and you haven't been there recently, one thing that you need to know is that there are so many different hot wheels to choose from. So many colors, so many shapes, and all for just a dollar. Jude's little brain honestly cannot handle the choices.

The red one. No, no, no, no, the blue one. No, the one with a shark head. No, the green one. No, orange. No, actually, the fire truck one. See, it's excruciating. The more hot wheels he sees, the more paralyzing.

he becomes in his decision-making. Now, I've gotten smarter now. I quickly grab two from the wall and let him choose in a different aisle between those two. He makes a quick decision, and he's usually happy with his almost always blue hot wheel that he comes home with. You see, the problem with the hot wheel's aisle

is that the choices are endless, and Jude knows there's a possibility that he might pick the wrong hot wheel and live to regret it. In that target aisle, my toddler is plagued with analysis paralysis. It's a real thing. The Cleveland Clinic describes this as the phenomenon where someone has an intense emotional reaction when making a decision. They stress over all the options, the fear, anxiety, and worry over making the wrong choice actually keeps

them from being able to make any decisions at all. They're paralyzed. Turns out, my toddler isn't the only one. It seems to be human nature. We analyze, we worry, we wonder, we assess the what-ifs, and the mix of emotion and endless choices and all the unknowns, we become paralyzed, afraid to make the wrong choice, afraid to ruin our future. The teacher in Ecclesiastes has something to say about this in Chapter 11. See, up into this point, the teacher has been reminding us that all is Hevel, all is vanity, vapor. We cannot hold on to this life, it's here today and gone tomorrow. And with all this uncertainty, with all the transients of life, here in chapter 11, we'll see the teacher say, rather than become paralyzed, this actually should spur us on to action.

You don't know what's coming tomorrow or the next day. Even if you make the best decision for today, you have no control over tomorrow. So let's read the first half now and unpack it as we go along. verse one cast your bread upon the waters for you will find it after many days give a portion to seven or even to eight for you know not what disaster may happen on earth okay so the teacher he's telling us to take action because we don't know what's coming tomorrow we can't control it what we can control is what we do today but what kind of action is he specifically telling us to take the first metaphor we read, to cast your bread upon the waters doesn't mean much to our modern ears. Like, what is he saying? This phrase is debated because it's not a metaphor we use today, but what many commentators tell us

is that in older Jewish and Christian interpretations, this phrase is referring to giving to the poor. You cast the bread out to others as they have need and in return when you're in need, the kindness would be returned to you. You would find it again. The second verse tells us to, a portion to seven or even to eight, meaning to be generous. If seven are in need, give to them. If another comes along in need, don't say, oh, I already gave to these other seven. No, give to the eighth, because you don't know what is coming. See, the teacher knows our human nature. What if my generosity today causes me to be a need tomorrow? What if the people who are asking aren't being genuine? What if? What if? And the teacher says,

what if? You can't know. You can't know if disaster will strike tomorrow. All you need to know is that today you can do good. You can live generously. You can help someone in need. He continues saying, if the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. All we know is that we are exactly where God has placed us. All we can do is empty ourselves with. we are, fall where we lie. We cannot control our circumstances, but we can take action and influence the places where we are today for good. In the next three verses, he reminds us of the dangers of analysis paralysis. Verse four, he who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds

will not reap. So if we sit and analyze, if we let our minds spin, if our anxiety and caution and keep us from taking action, we will not reap. We can't sit back. We can't wait. We can't just observe. All we have is today. So, do good, give generously, and one day you will reap. Verse 5. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with a child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. He's just saying the ways of God are so much higher than ours. We cannot understand the depth and intricacies of life. So why would we pridefully think that we can analyze and assess to such an extent that we can make the perfect, best, right choice? So at the end of the day, God is in control. We can only make the next best choice.

Verse 6. In the morning, sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper. This or that, or whether both alike will be good. So give generously. Do good always. So in the morning, in the evening, don't withhold a good thing. You don't know where your generosity will impact a life, where it will take hold. Only God knows. It makes me think of Galatian 6.9. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Don't give up. The good that we sow will reap a harvest in time. We may not see it today. We would not know when or how it will come, but God will be faithful. Don't let the uncertainty of life keep you from doing good. Instead of saying, tomorrow there might be ruined, so I need to store up for

myself today. We're being invited to say, tomorrow there might be ruin. So I need to give generously and do good with the time that I have today. God is good. He will provide. I will so today, knowing that my future is secure in him. Now the teacher wraps this chapter with four verses bringing the reader back to reality. Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.

Remember, all is vanity. It's easy to become transfixed by this world to live a living, long life caught up believing the vapor is all that there is only to be confronted with darkness and death one day. The next verse is an ironic remark to the young in light of the knowledge the death comes for us all. Rejoice, oh young man in your youth and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the side of your eyes. But know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. So you can rejoice. You can walk by what you see. You can follow your heart, but know that one day you will die and you will face God.

The Havel in front of you is vapor. It is transient. It is fleeting. Reality is coming. Verse 10. Remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. So he finishes the chapter. telling the reader to remove vexation and put away pain. Now all he's saying here is to not let your mind and heart get wrapped up in the woes and worries and anxieties and wanderings of life. Those things are Haville. They're fleeting. They're not eternal. It's a chasing after the wind. Instead, with the knowledge that one day we will all face God, with the knowledge that our only hope is to stand before God, covered by the blood of Jesus. We give our lives over to Him and His mercy today.

Despite all the choices, despite all the uncertainties of life, we choose to build His kingdom today. To do good, to give generously, to make the next best choice for the good of others. Because if our lives are founded on Christ, if our hope is found in His life, death, and resurrection, then we are secure. no matter what comes tomorrow, be it disaster or blessing, today we can partner with Jesus in spreading his kingdom of love, justice, and mercy. We can give to those in need, we can take action, we don't need to analyze and worry about what it will mean for our lives. In the end, it's all Hevel apart from God. The only thing that is eternal is his kingdom,

his promise to bring us into his glorious city one day, to live alongside him, to experience true justice, true peace, true joy. What matters is that today we sow. We live generous lives. We don't know how God is using our actions or choices to further his kingdom, to bring others in so we trust him, knowing that we are secure in his promises. Don't let the fear of uncertainty paralyze you. Take action today. Partner with Jesus in bringing his kingdom of love, justice, and mercy, to the neighborhoods, the classrooms, the businesses, and the homes that you come and go from each and every day.