The Times and Toils

When tragedy sets in there is no way of understanding the cause. The questions of:
"Why did this happen?"
"Where did I go wrong?"
flood the mind and drag the heart down with it.

What is most difficult to remember is that the Bible speaks of such events and how to handle these. They are my most favorite verses because when I cry or simply feel I must break down but could never get back up, my Father is there to comfort me and help me onto my feet again.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 He speaks of time. 

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace."

He doesn't stop there though... 

After giving comfort in times of pain, reminding you that it's ok to cry, ok to laugh, rejoice, love, and embrace. He also gives you tools on how to manage those times of pain. In these verses they are called toils. The definition for toil is hard continuous work; exhausting effort. 

Haven't we all been there? 

You try and try harder! Yet you feel that you have gotten nowhere. As if you're running a race, putting all your efforts into this, feel exhausted... but you haven't even moved from the starting line. 

Here is what the Bible says about these toils in Ecclesiastes 3:9-15:

^" What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹² I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³ also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
¹⁴ I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵ That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away."

Now this text is one of the most misinterpreted in the Bible. Solomon was not saying for people to go get drunk and fatten themselves up just because they were upset about the amount of work they had to do. He was saying "rejoice in your troubles so that God may be glorified through you." 

As seen in verse 14 -- "God has done it, so that people fear before him."
Fearing God does not mean that you are afraid of Him. It means that you respect Him and honor Him. 
In verse 15 -- " God seeks what has been driven away."
Though you may have lost someone, though something may have been taken from you (time, money, a loved one)... The Lord wishes to see His disciples use this toil for His glorification. So that all may see Him through you.

Many of us have heard the common phrase "let others see God through you." It is preached in almost every Christian church around the world. Let those around you know that God is the reason you are able to wake up every morning, get through your day with a smile on your face, and do it all again the very next day even though you may be going through a hard time. 

Never once does it say in the Bible "hide your toils" ...... it says "take pleasure in [your] toils!"