June 14, 2026 The Work of God | Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

Today, we will reflect on Ecclesiastes 11:1-10, The Work of God. God created us to work, to have dominion over creation and help it flourish, responsible human work is part of God’s creation plan for humanity, but human sin spoiled God’s good creation, work is now much harder and made our work less certain. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin and to restore the good creation. Jesus sees work in the context of the kingdom of God, “I will make you fishers of men,” and urges his followers to do the work of God. We are called to do everything as if for the Lord, as in our work we bless our community and create places of flourishing.

Transcript

The Work of God

Theme: use every opportunity to work boldly and wisely

Ecclesiastes 11:1–10

As Solomon draws to the end of his taking stock of the world through the lens of “under the sun,” he addresses the topic of work. God created Adam and Eve to care for the garden and creation, and he walked with them in the evening after a day of work. The first gift God gave Adam and Eve after creating them was the gift of sabbath, the gift of resting and enjoying the creation we live in, the gift of companionship, and the beautiful garden they were to manage. But when they disobeyed God, they no longer rejoiced in the presence of God, but hid from him in fear; work became filled with toil and difficulty, with thorns and sweat. 

Solomon speaks to the wisdom of hard work and to developing different talents and opportunities within your work. He advises to “ship your grain across the sea,” to seek out markets for your products, even if they’re not where you first considered. In verse 2 he writes, “Invest in seven ventures, yes in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” In an agricultural society, it’s wise to make sure you’re not completely dependent on only one crop or type of farming. Some crops handle drought better than others, some crops do better in poor soil, different livestock need different types of pasture and feed, and there’s no control over the weather and a multitude of other variables that can impact you. Businesses were regularly impacted by conflicts, trade barriers, bandits, or other problems. 

Diversification allows the family to get by, no matter the circumstances. This is more difficult in today’s society, this wisdom may look a little different; it may look like learning a variety of skills, or continual learning as most people today will hold a number of jobs and even very different types of jobs over their working life. Flexibility is important and wise today and to diversify your income and investment as a protection against bad yields in one area of the economy or another may also be wise; the emphasis is on our not knowing, God’s ways are not our ways.

We have so much knowledge of how creation works, when clouds are full it rains, and trees that fall will lie on the ground, and yet our knowledge is not perfect, creation is still in God’s hands and he directs it so that the rain doesn’t always fall when expected because there are other factors involved that we may not be aware of. We still need to go out and do our work, even if the conditions aren’t perfect because otherwise, you’ll not have enough food on your table. Today this wisdom may look like taking a job you don’t really want, but will put food on your table. This is practical wisdom, but it goes against our world’s teaching that you can be whoever you want and that you have to enjoy your work. Eating is also enjoyable.

There’s so much we don’t know, from the path of the wind, which often changes direction or strength, to the mystery of life and how a child is formed in a mother’s womb. We know the biology, but the forming of the child’s soul and the image of God in each child is still a mystery to us. it’s God-work that’s more than biology. Yet even though there’s so much we don’t understand, we work with what we can know, we do the work set before us because there will never be perfect conditions, and to not have idle hands which have a tendency to get into trouble.   

There are many unable to work, as our society defines work. We look at work with a pay-cheque making work real or not, yet work is about contributing to the flourishing of your family and community. A stay-at-home mom or dad’s work provides a solid foundation for the family, building strong families, creating a flexibility to ensure that the family is able to adapt to all kinds of unexpected situations. Families here there is a stay-at-home parent are ensured that their family’s faith and moral foundations are solidly part of their children’s life foundations. This is key and valuable work that is much more than 40 hours a week. This work is essential in building deeper relationships within the family and strong feelings of connectedness, safety, and opportunities to communicate their inner-selves with their parents. This builds strong families which builds strong communities, blessing our society as a whole. It’s a weakness in our society today that too many families need to have both parents work outside the home simply to pay the bills. 

Many are unable to work at paid work for health or other reasons, yet many volunteer as they’re able and unfortunately their work is often under-valued and under-appreciated. So many of our non-profits benefit greatly from these people. Age is often a factor in our being able to work. I’ve experienced the value of their quiet work like prayer, writing notes of encouragement, visiting shut-ins and the lonely, calling others, and all these community building acts of service bring great value and encouragement to others. For those who struggle with their health, engaging in this kind of work helps you to look past your own situation by focusing on blessing others and bring joy and community into your life and heart. 

God not only created us to work, he’s also a God who is at work, and our work is part of the work he’s doing in his work of redemption and restoration of creation and leading history and the present forward to the return of Jesus and the full establishment of the kingdom of heaven here on earth. We also talk about Jesus’ finished work consisting of becoming human, of calling us to repentance and belief, of going to the cross and taking our sin and punishment on himself, and then returning to heaven after this resurrection where he now mediates on our behalf with his Father. Jesus sees work in the context of the kingdom of God, “I will make you fishers of men,” urging his followers to do the work of God. Our work flows out of their work, and the Holy Spirit’s work in us, shaping us, guiding us as followers of Jesus. 

God gives us our work, knowing our abilities and gifts. Our work is part of his plans for us and our families and communities. Paul refers to this in Romans 12:6a, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us,” and goes on to encourage us to use them. In whatever work God calls us to, we work with and for God to discover how he wants us to use our gifts in everyday situations at home, work, church, and community. We often underestimate the gifts God has given us, and sometimes it simply needs someone to recognize them in us and then encourage us to develop them. This can lead to some exciting opportunities that we would never have imagined. God loves surprising us gently, or not so gently, pushing us to imagine doing more than we ever saw in ourselves. 

Our work is part of our worship of God. We work as if we’re doing everything for God, we finish our different tasks, always looking to do our best; even if it’s hard or we encounter obstacles, or even opposition. When we do our work as if for the Lord, we’re better able to see, value, and encourage the work others do. we begin to see how the work we do is deeply connected to others in our community, and even in the world. Think of a chicken farm. You buy your chicks from someone who hatched them and nurtured them, you buy feed from someone else who used the harvest from another farmer, you use equipment made by someone else, perhaps in another country, then you sell your chickens and they’re taken to a factory where they’re processed and then brought to a store where someone buys them to feed their family. How many people are all connected together in this simple chain of work, how many people are blessed and able to support their families in this interconnected chain that your farm is a part of? This is a cycle of blessing that helps our communities to flourish. 

When we seek God’s righteousness through our work, we pursue justice and virtue in our work. The decisions you make as a business should consider things like fairness to employees and customers, keeping our word and adding value to the local economy. Our work should bless, and not, as the Old Testament prophets so often remind us, not trample the poor, or take bribes, or ignore the needy. These are all ways we seek God’s righteousness in our community. We are the body of Christ given as a gift for the life of the world. We are the hope of God scattered across the world.

Solomon reminds us that light is sweet and to enjoy the years God gives us because there will be dark years too. Solomon encourages the young to enjoy their youth, while also reminding them that their choices will have consequences, so make sure your choices are good ones. Youth is a good time to experiment with many types of work and experiences; they will help you gain wisdom, develop skills and talents, and learn the values of family, community, and work. 

Solomon calls us to not worry, even if you’re not young anymore, even if your body isn’t the same as when you were younger and stronger, with age comes wisdom. Don’t place so much value on your youth that you miss out on the joy of maturing and growing old, of being able to see life through the eyes of experience, of having learned valuable lessons on what’s important, of learning the value of both work and relationship, of the value of seeing the joy in the simple things of life, of experiencing the satisfaction of a good day’s work followed by a meal and family, as Solomon has repeated over and over again throughout Ecclesiastes. May you find joy in your work, whether on a jobsite, at home, in someone’s home, or in the community.