Karatara Mission: QT Saturday Morning

Devotion for Training Weekend at Knysna 4 December2011
Day 1 Step out, take the risk
Read. Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (NKJV)
The Value of Diligence
1 Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind,[a]
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.

“Even the best-laid Schemes o’ Mice and Men” said Robbie Burns don’t always work out—that’s a reality we all have to face every day. So how should you live when you’re not sure how things are going to turn out? Solomon says, “Don’t play it safe—take risks.” In other words, you have to live confidently. You can’t hide just because life won’t cooperate. Don’t avoid blessings because of the concerns that come with them. God wants you to step out in faith and take risks. He yearns for us to stop playing it safe.
Solomon gives us two thoughts: 1. Take what you’ve been given and use it. Cast your bread on water , It’s no good storing it up, nothing happens until you use it, you’ve done your training, you’ve practised hard, now is the time to trust what you’ve got stored up and to let the Lord use you.
2. Seize the opportunity. You’ve been given a group of kids, some of these know even less than you do. Some know nothing. Remember it’s not your job to convert them to believe in the Lord, but it is your job to share with them what the Lord has done for them. It’s the Holy Spirits job to convert them.