Ecclesiastes 1:4-9 (NIV): Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
To one who only sees with the eye of flesh, much in the world can seem redundant and meaningless. Life for those people becomes an endless succession of day and night, heat and cold, rain and sun,with only the prospect of doing it over again tomorrow. But to those with eyes that can see the wonders and miracles that take place every day,the whole world looks different. Even looking back at a hard life and a ruined city, which painted a picture of a ruined future to everyone else, Jeremiah wrote: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV) He had eyes that saw beyond the present, beyond the circumstances, beyond the mere grind of passing days and repetitive cycles, all the way to how God’s love, His grace, and His mercies make each new day something special – a new adventure lived out in His presence.
Father, thank You for this corrective. Forgive me for the times that I have gotten caught up in and brought down by the repetitiveness of the cycles, and have forgotten to thank You for each new day, each new chance to work with You in Your strength and power. Amen.