July 17, 2022 - Ecclesiastes 11:1

“Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.” Ecclesiastes 11:1 NLT

Lord, this verse is a challenge to trust in you and we want to respond to it well. When farmers would send their grain or other products on a ship to another land, they would have to wait an unknown amount of time for the profits to be returned to them. It was a risk. They would have to trust the captain to return with their money. A lot could go wrong that could prevent that from happening. Yet, the potential profit could make the risk worth it. Lord, we know that unlike the ships in Bible times, you are not going to sink or get lost. You are fully trustworthy. If we invest our lives in you, we will profit.

Lord, it is also key that this verse says, “in time”. Help us to also give up the control of things happening in our timetable. Help us learn to not only trust you but trust your timing. If you promised something, we can count on that happening. The question isn’t if it will happen, but when. Teach us how to hold onto faith in the waiting. Even if we are waiting for years to see a promise fulfilled, help us not lose faith or trust in you. Teach us how to manage our expectations on the timing, but not give up the expectation that our “profits” will return.

Lord, what is it that you want us to trust you with more? What situations are we trying to keep control of and not fully surrender unto you? What grains do we have that we have not been willing to send across the seas? Please open our eyes to those things and help us learn to trust you with them. Lord, if you are calling us to do something that will require us putting more trust in you, we want to answer the call. We declare that you are trustworthy, and you are worth the risk. We send our grain across the sea, by saying, “Yes!” to whatever you are asking of us.

In Jesus name, amen.