Ecclesiastes 11

11:1   Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.  
11:2   Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
11:3   If the clouds be full of rain, they empty [themselves] upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.  
11:4   He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.  
11:5   As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.  
11:6   In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both [shall be] alike good.  

After dealing with a rather difficult night that some may liken to a family war (not that it was really a war, the adversary simply influenced the "opponent" to try to make it a war), I was impressed to study this passage.  Everything the evening prior had been an issue: clothes, going shopping for new clothes,homework, what to take for lunch, taking herbal drops due to cold symptoms, drinking water due to cold symptoms, etc.  I refused to raise my voice and tried to state facts with some explanation when I felt it necessary, but often due to the lack of reasoning power of the individual, it was just stated: that's the way it is.  The person was beyond reasoning.  On top of this, my back-up (my husband) was out of town not due to return for 6 days.

I had a backache and a headache by the time the individual went to bed.  The other child who was in the house had been in bed for over an hour and had been trying to sleep, but did children sleep during air raids in Germany during WWII?  

The next morning I woke up and was wondering, "Why am I doing this?  How long can I do this?  When will all the kinks get worked out?" A song I had listened to the day before flashed into my head and the words took on new meaning.  The song was taken from Ecclesiastes 11 as quoted above and so I took out my Bible and began a, deeper study, as it seemed so applicable.

Cast thy bread upon the waters:  Give liberally to any and all.  Obviously this should include not just material items but most importantly giving (or revealing) the Bread of Life. Giving time, love and understanding in all circumstances, remembering that you may be the only revelation of Jesus they ever see.

"Christ never murmured, never uttered discontent, displeasure or resentment.  He was never disheartened, discouraged, ruffled or fretted.  He was patient, calm and self-possessed under the most trying circumstances. . . He moved amid the world of excitement, of violence and crime, as the sun moves above the clouds.  Human passions and commotions and trials were beneath Him.  He sailed like the sun above them all. . .He had a calm inward joy, a peace which was serene.  His will was ever swallowed up in the will of the Father."; Letter 51a September 11 1874 (TDG 263)  

O to be like Him.  I was reminded of the verse Jeremiah 12:5 which states, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and [if] in the land of peace, [wherein] thou trustedst, [they wearied thee], then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"

. . .for thou shalt find it after many days.   We never know the result of sowing seeds.  One sows, one waters and one reaps.  Some seeds fall by the wayside but some fall on good soil. The time that it takes for seeds to develop varies from seed to seed, soil to soil, with many contributing factors. Our job is to sow the seed, to reveal Jesus and let Him take care of the fruit.  This giving is life-long.  Genesis 8:22 states, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”  

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.  Seven or eight is signifying an indefinite number leaning towards more, rather than less.  As we have no idea what is going to happen in our own lives tomorrow, we also have no idea what will happen in the lives we have an opportunity to share with, so while we have opportunity we are to give…freely.  We have no idea how long it may be until the seed may sprout but God has promised in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it."  

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty [themselves] upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.  There are laws in nature.  Full clouds give rain.  A storm with strong winds causes a tree to fall in a direction that we cannot determine.  Learn to take whatever occurs, whatever God allows and press bravely on remembering many situations in life are beyond our control and that just as "The Father's presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world," so it is for us.  Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defense. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord's permission, and "all things" that are permitted "work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28.  MB 71.2

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.  If you are waiting for ideal conditions to sow your seed, you will be waiting for a long time.  When Jesus separated the sheep from the goats, the sheep were unaware that they had been ministering to Jesus.  They had not waited for "good soil" or ideal weather to plant their seed. God told Jeremiah not to make excuses. "Say not, I [am] a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I [am] with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD."   Jer. 1:7, 8.

We have to learn look past the faces of those that God has called us to minister, to not hear the words and sounds which may be expressed from their mouths, but rather, like Jesus and the demoniac, hear their inward cry which is often never verbalized and many times unrealized on their part. This requires one to be Spirit filled so that you can be Spirit led to know how to speak a word in season to those who are weary.

As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both [shall be] alike good. The development of a fetus, the way of the wind, are still marvels to the scientific world.  Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.  Job 37:14.  Man is the most complicated creation of God, being fashioned in the Almighty's image.  Although defaced by sin, the majority of the facets of man cannot be fathomed.  To withhold your hand when you have no idea how the Holy Spirit is working in someone's life would therefore be unwise, actually foolish.

When the sower went forth to sow, he sowed everywhere.  He did not search for perfect soil.  Cultivation of soil has its place, but the sower's job is to sow, beside all waters, as the Spirit leads.  

Cast thy bread upon the waters.

     Cast      -        with all your might
       thy      -        Do you have a personal relationship with the Bread?
   bread      -        the Bread of Life
  waters      -        people  

Cast thy bread upon the waters.