Win the Day #11 | Seed the Clouds – D Side
Happy Father’s Day!
Possibly the greatest need in today’s world is healthy Fathers. A lack of Fatherhood is creating and contributing to many of our societies problems. One of your greatest contributions to a better world is to be a great father
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Go public – I’m committed to following Jesus
Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.
Ecclesiastes 11:2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
Ecclesiastes 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.
- Keep Giving Out – It Will Keep Coming Back
- Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
- When the clouds are full – the rain will fall
God has appointed your harvest… and what God has appointed no one can stop.
- Accept What Is
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
Some things just are no matter how much we want them to be different. Rather than fight them, what if we go with them?
Gravity is – Electricity is
We can fight it or cooperate with it.
- You’re stuck in traffic
- The flight is being delayed
- The kids are sick
- The building project costs more and is taking longer
I’m not talking about passivity as a way of life. If the tree has fallen to the north and you want it toward the south… either accept north and work with it, or start working to get it facing south.
Agitation, irritation, depression, frustration will never be positive responses. Those emotions will seed the cloud in all the wrong ways.
Some people are always against the grain. They’re argumentative, negative, cynical, anti everything.
They’re:
- Fighting with life
- Fighting with God
- Fighting with people
- Fighting with what is
Learn to accept what is.
- Don’t be Pushed or Pulled by Outward Circumstances
Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap
We have to be guided by a set of principles and convictions that are beyond the set of circumstances we find ourselves in. There have to be convictions that run our lives.
- Summer – Winter
- Up or down
- Feel good or not
I will pray…
I will stay in the Word… not just when I can find time
I will pay tithe… not just when I feel I can afford it
I will worship…
I will love my wife, kids, friends… no matter what is happening in the rest of my world
- Always Remember God is Working for You in Ways You Cannot See
Ecclesiastes 11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
God is active. He is moving on our behalf.
Sometimes what God is being behind the scenes is way more than what He appears to be doing in front of you.
John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
There is a mystery dimension to life. There is a mystery dimension to God and the way He works. Embrace the mystery! Embrace the idea that God is for you.
Mystery: what was hidden is now revealed. If you are trying to understand it all
You’re going to be tied in knots.
Mark 4:26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
Mark 4:27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows– how, he himself does not know.
Mark 4:28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
There is a God working behind the scenes on your behalf. Some of it resides in the mystery zone. It’s bigger than you. It’s beyond you.
- Expect Everything to Work – Don’t be Bummed When Some Things Don’t
Ecclesiastes 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.
Don’t get your hopes up.
Actually, Hope is a powerful force. Hope is a general expectation things will turn out good. Faith is an inner knowing things will turn for good. Faith and Hope are born out of a confidence in God’s goodness. Expectation is powerful! Some people have lost anticipation and expectation for life. They get too safe… Too scared. Instead of trying to win, they are trying not to lose. Because some things didn’t work they have quit trying new things.
We tried to start a Christian school because of our passion for the next generation.
We wanted an environment in keeping with the DNA of our church, but we couldn’t find a leader. In other words, the tail was wagging the dog.
Christmas Eve has always been a strong event for us. The Christmas Tour didn’t really work for us. But we’ve overcome perfectionism and procrastination. We now expect everything to work because we’ve given God something to bless.
If you’re praying for a job, go start looking! Start asking around. Start hunting.
Get your resumes out!
Seeding the clouds is a big buy in that God has ordained sowing and reaping and that He personally watches over it.