Ecclesiastes 8:6
“Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.”
Goals, plans and desires are plenteous with many people. Often you hear people say, “I plan on doing…” The problem is not that people don’t have goals and plans of what they want to do, the problem is that they don’t seem to move from the desire to the accomplishment.
Accomplishment is one of the most important elements that divides the successful from the average. If you were to sit down and write out all of your accomplishments, how many would you be able to write down? The amount of goals a person has doesn’t really mean much. It is how much they accomplish that really matters. I would rather have a person work for me who only has a few goals at a time, but they accomplish them, than someone who has many goals and has never accomplished one of them.
Moving from desire to accomplishment is where many people struggle. In the verse above you find there is a little formula that helps a person move from desire to accomplishment. Let me point out what this verse teaches.
First, you must have a purpose. “Purpose” is defined as, “the reason for which something is done.” You will never accomplish something if you don’t have a purpose for doing it. Simply ask yourself, “What am I trying to accomplish with what I am doing?” This is a key question to get you started. The purpose will define what you are going to do. The purpose will show your destination. Without purpose accomplishment will not be achieved.
Second, there must be a schedule of deadlines to accomplish tasks. God says, “there is time” involved in purpose. In other words, you must sit down and write out a schedule of when you are going to be at certain junctures of your purpose. I often tell people to break down their purpose into segments, then make a deadline to finish each segment. People work off deadlines, and without a deadline you will continue to put things off.
Third, don’t expect immediate results. Accomplishment takes time. You must not quit because it’s taking too much time. Longevity is always an important element in accomplishing projects. Be patient with your time schedule.
Fourth, have a plan, then follow the plan. Judgment is simply planning. You must have a plan of how to accomplish your task. In the plan, you need to figure out every obstacle and how to overcome them. This is another important means to accomplishment.
Fifth, expect hard times. The verse says, “…the misery of man is great upon him.” When it gets tough, don’t quit. One of the main differences between those who accomplish things and those who don’t is the one who accomplishes things keeps going when it gets tough. You must expect what you’re doing to be hard, so don’t quit when it get tough. Just keep taking one more step until you accomplish your task.
Accomplishment is always sweet when achieved. Fulfillment in life will only come if you have accomplishments. Accomplishment should be achieved every day, month and year. When you accomplish something in this pattern, then at the end of life you will have many accomplishments from which you can look back and receive satisfaction. I challenge you to find something to accomplish within the next year.
Help in Trouble
Psalm 46:1-2
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;”
The phone rings, or you hear the knock on the door, and your world is immediately turned upside down. For the first time in your life, or in a long time, you feel vulnerable. The news you hear has thrown you into a tail spin and you don’t know what to do.
David felt the same way in the verse above. David said that when this happened, he discovered, “God is our refuge and strength,…” When his world was removed, David discovered that God was “a very present help in trouble.” When you read this psalm, you find there is help in trouble. Who is that help? That help is God!
One of the things that makes bad news so bad is that it gives no warning ahead of time so you can prepare. It simply comes. The heart attack hits your loved one. You family member has found themselves in trouble with the law. Your spouse leaves you for someone else, and you were completely caught off guard. A seemingly healthy loved one passes away, and your “earth is removed.” When your “earth is removed,” let me remind you that God is the One Who will protect and give you strength to face the days ahead. He is your help in trouble.
When the strength of your life is gone, God will become the strength to help you in your time of trouble. That is what the psalmist was teaching when he said, “…though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;…” When your troubles come and remove the strongholds that you have depended upon for so long, you can rest assured that God is “a very present help in trouble.”
Often, when going through troubled times of life, the troubles you face will seemingly roar at such a volume that you will want to run. The psalmist said in verse 3, “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,…” He was saying that troubles will certainly make themselves known to you, and the noise of fear and doubt may swirl in your head, but in these times you can be assured that God is “a very present help in trouble.”
Christian, one thing you can bank on in life is that when troubles come, they don’t come alone, because God has already come to be your strength as you go through them. That is why God says in verses 10-11, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” God is simply saying to calm down. Yes, the troubles may be screaming to get you to run, but “be still.” Yes, the troubles may have turned your world upside down, but God will be exalted through them. Yes, the troubles have seemingly made you vulnerable and weak, but God is with you. God is to be your refuge and strength in these times.
Whatever you are facing today, don’t let your troubles cause you to be afraid. As God teaches us in verse 10, calm down. You are safe, and God is there with you. You may not know what the days ahead may hold, but you can always be assured that in the days ahead God will give you the strength to face whatever may come.