It seems that the world is topsy-turvy right now. It’s scary. It’s messy. And the future seems uncertain. But I am reminded of a verse in the Bible…
Ecclesiastes 1:9 [NIV]
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
…there is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before. It might have had a different face, but it has always been ‘the same stuff, different day’. Why is that an uplifting thought? Because since the days of Adam, the world has been topsy-turvy, and people have managed to survive. If people have done it before, we know that we can do it again. We can learn from the past and put that knowledge into practice so that we can turn things around in the present. Of course, the Bible offers us valuable insights, but much can be learned from our study of history itself.
My mom lived a lot of her childhood during the Great Depression. Her family was put out on the streets because they couldn’t pay their rent. She had to wear shoes that were too small and hurt her feet because there was no money to buy her new ones. But despite these and many other hardships, she still had fond memories from those years. Her family adapted and managed to survive those bleak times to go on and live happy full lives. Those lean years taught them to be frugal and industrious. They learned that there was always someone less fortunate, and they shared what they could with them. They learned to be thankful for the little things.
We all probably have heard stories of past hardships from our relatives. My parents’ generation saw not only the Great Depression, but also WWII. Their parents lived through WWI, which was called, “the war to end all wars”. Did you know that there was a hurricane in Galveston, Texas in 1900 that destroyed much of the town and killed an estimated 8,000 people? It is still considered the worst natural disaster in our country’s history. All of these events and many more like them, although absolutely devasting, led to some kind of positive recovery.
Look at the world’s history. There have been hundreds of occasions of hostility and unthinkable cruelties, of abject poverty and suffering. Slavery was commonplace in ancient cultures long before the time of Moses. There have been natural disasters and manmade calamities over and over again. And through all these things, mankind has managed to progress.
I bring up these unpleasant periods to illustrate that people have been able to survive them. They banded together and figured out how to overcome their circumstances and make things better for themselves and their families. “What has been done before will be done again”. We also can overcome our circumstances and make life better.
There is something to be said for the strength of the human spirit, or survival instinct. This is a basic ability that God instilled in man. Think about the Pilgrims that first came to our country. They survived incredible hardships to secure their settlement in Massachusetts. What about the day to day lives of civilians who were oppressed in occupied France during WWII? Consider the impacts and the aftermath of natural disasters. These kinds of occurrences can showcase the human spirit at its best. People bond and take care of each other. They work together for the profit of everybody. I have to think that God is working in these situations as well, for that greatly strengthens men’s resolve. There have always been and always will be those who selfishly use the hardships of others for their personal gain. And they are the people who oppose the human spirit. But even in those instances, good can succeed and with God’s help, good will succeed.
The Bible is full of wonderful accounts of God delivering people from hardships, wars, and calamities.
Noah is a great example.
At the time of Noah, society was as corrupt as it has ever been. It says in Genesis 6:5 that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And in verse 6, it says that God regretted that He had made man. But the account goes on to say that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah was the only person who believed God in his day and time. No one else, not even his family believed. So God worked with Noah to deliver him and his family (mercifully), and God made a covenant with Noah. We all know the story – Noah built an ark and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. But think about the specifics of his task. First of all the ark was a craft like nothing that had ever been seen or built before, and it was HUGE. Plus, the situation for which it was being built was beyond comprehension. Noah had to completely trust God’s instructions to accomplish this task and it took around 120 years to complete. Consider Noah’s plight. He was the ONLY one who believed in what he was doing. He didn’t even have the support of his family. And I’m sure that all those evil-thinking people around him were not kind nor helpful to him. So for about 120 years, he labored alone in this endeavor, and probably suffered ridicule and criticism constantly. But he persevered because God was with him, and he believed.
Noah was 600 years old when the flood came, and he, his family and all the animals were in the ark for a little over a year. And when they left the ark, their entire civilization and everything they had known was gone. What must that have been like? There is a lot we can learn from Noah’s experience.
So far in our world today, we haven’t reached the level of widespread evil thinking that took place at the time of Noah. And it helps to remember that the evil we see now has been evidenced before. Therefore, as God took care of Noah, He will take care of us. We know for a certainty that we are not alone as Christian believers. (There are millions of us who believe God and trust in Him.) Look at what God did to take care of just ONE believer! What will He do for all of us? He was willing and able to do it before, He is willing and able to do it again!
When the news seems too much to bear and you have reached the end of your rope, remind yourself that there is nothing new under the sun. The craziness surrounding us today is as crazy as it has always been. There is nothing new about it. Dig down deep and renew your conviction to rise above the craziness and enjoy seeing what God will do for you.
Note to my readers: Another key for survival is prayer. Praying is not new. It worked before, and it will work again. Surround each other in prayer. Thanks for reading.