A Daily Devotion for Monday, November 7
- ontrakk
- Nov 7, 2022
- 1 min read
Ecclesiastes 5:7
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God.
This verse is at the end of the first "section" of chapter 5, in my translation. The section is subtitled: Fulfill Your Vow to God. This lends a little to my understanding today. The writer urges us to keep our promises and our vows to God realistic, and at a reasonable level. We should not make promises to God based on "much dreaming" and then have to take back the promise later. This is kind of a rough message, because we all fail, continue to slip up and sin, and fall short of our goals in terms of being like Jesus. But the message for me is to keep God near, make goals with God's guidance, and refrain from promising perfection or an outcome I know is not attainable.
Holy Father, you know me better than I know myself. Help me to set goals which will lead to growth and holiness, and not to frustration and disappointment. I am far from perfect, and know I will never be perfect. You are transforming me each day, and I am moving in the right direction. Amen
Becky, transforming
Ecclesiastes 5:7 We can dream all we want and talk the good talk, but if those dreams and that talk do not show respect for God’s words, they are empty. He has left us with all we need to show respect to him and follow in his path. This does not mean we cannot have dreams, it just means those dreams should honor the lessons God has taught us. Prayer: gracious God, you have given us all the direction we need to be the people you wish us to be. Help us to not detour off that path. Amen 
Ecclesiastes 5:7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God.
I agree with this statement. Dreams are not to be taken seriously and what a person does is a more realistic measure of who they are. I do not believe that the word fear as we use it is what is meant in the Old Testament. I think we are “fearing” (obeying) God when we follow His teachings.
Dear Lord, please judge me by what I do and not by the sometimes-foolish word that I use. Amen.
Ecclesiastes 5:7
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
This scripture was very short and I needed much understanding. Awe is the feeling we get in the presence of something so great that it challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of stars in the night sky or marveling at the birth of a child.
I just am so impressed with how well God knows me. He knows my heart and I don't even have to tell him what's going on. I am just so in awe of how many people he has to keep tabs on and how he is able to. Just knowing how undeserving I am of…
Ecclesiastes 5:7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God.
This verse tells me that I should fear God if I choose to live outside of His teachings. Being obedient to God’s teachings are the ways I should live my life.
Dearest Lord, I thank you for giving us the choice to live my life as you have outlined for me or live outside of these laws and sin. I choose to live within your commandment and dream of the day I am with you in paradise. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Ecclesiastes 5:7
Ecclesiastes can be a very tough read. Solomon frequently challenges the reader with stark reality checks. As explained in Becky’s text this is one. I may talk a good game as a Christian, even expressing dreams of a ministry that may never take flight, but I am ultimately accountable to God. I hope others may bring another translation to the table as ”fear” does not seem quite right to me as the conclusion of this admonition. I am thinking more along the lines of “respect,“ “honor” or “obey.” I look forward to reading your posts.
Prayer - All-knowing God, may my dreams, words and ultimately my actions always reflect a deep reverence for You and a genuine…