When God Makes Things Crooked
Trusting Divine Sovereignty Through Life’s Unpredictable and Difficult Paths
Sermon Summary
Life often presents situations that feel unfair, confusing, and completely beyond our ability to fix or straighten out. Ecclesiastes 7 teaches that God sovereignly weaves both prosperous days and adverse seasons together to remind us of our complete dependence on Him. Instead of demanding immediate answers or relying on our own strength, believers are called to cultivate reverent trust in the Lord, surrendering their need for control to His eternal wisdom.
Introduction
We live in a culture that promises that with enough planning, hard work, and positive thinking, we can control every outcome of our lives. Yet every believer eventually encounters seasons where despite our best efforts, things go wrong. Plans collapse, health fails, or unexpected setbacks disrupt our comfort. In those moments, we wrestle with why life feels so twisted and unyielding. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes invites us to pause and consider a profound biblical truth: God Himself allows twists in our path that no human effort can straighten. Rather than leading us to despair, this reality is meant to strip away our self-reliance and draw us closer to the Sovereign Ruler who holds all things in His hands.
Main Scripture
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight which he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 sits at the center of Qoheleth's meditation on wisdom and human limitations. In these verses, the Preacher uses the vivid metaphor of something made crooked to describe circumstances that human power cannot alter or repair. He commands us to consider the work of God, acknowledging that God orchestrates both days of prosperity and days of adversity side by side. The purpose of this divine design is to prevent humanity from presuming to master or predict the future. By confronting our inability to change what God has established, this passage redirects our confidence from human ingenuity to God's ultimate sovereignty.
Main Sermon Points
1. Acknowledge the Limits of Human Control
Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight which he has made crooked?
The Preacher challenges us to examine divine providence and recognize that human strength cannot undo what God has allowed.
Human wisdom and energy are limited. When God permits obstacles or detours in our journey, attempting to force our own path only produces frustration and spiritual exhaustion.
Identify one area of your life where you have been striving to control an unchangeable outcome, and consciously surrender it to God through daily prayer.
Quick Insights
- Human effort can never override God's sovereign design.
- Recognizing our limitations is the first step toward true wisdom.
- Peace begins when we stop trying to fix what only God can govern.
2. Embrace Both Prosperity and Adversity
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
God intentionally balances seasons of blessing with seasons of difficulty so that believers learn to walk by faith rather than sight.
Adversity is not always a sign of God's absence or disfavor; rather, it is a deliberate season designed to deepen our spiritual maturity and force sober reflection.
In prosperous times, express genuine gratitude, and during hard times, reflect on God's past faithfulness rather than giving in to bitterness.
Quick Insights
- Joy in prosperity and reflection in adversity keep the heart anchored.
- God balances our seasons to keep us entirely dependent on Him.
- Difficult days serve a holy purpose in refining our faith.
3. Walk in the Fear of the Lord
It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.
Reverent fear of God balances the soul, preserving the believer from self-righteous presumption on one hand and sinful despair on the other.
The fear of the Lord provides a moral and spiritual compass when circumstances are confusing, steering us away from rigid legalism and careless compromise.
Evaluate your daily choices against God's Word, seeking to honor Him in hidden decisions rather than seeking human approval or legalistic self-justification.
Quick Insights
- The fear of the Lord protects us from extremes of pride and lawlessness.
- Holy reverence produces steady endurance through mysterious trials.
- Trusting God's character brings stability when life feels unstable.
4. Find Ultimate Rest in Jesus Christ
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.
While human nature is fallen and incapable of achieving perfection, Christ entered our crooked world to redeem us and restore what sin broke.
Where human wisdom fails and human righteousness falls short, the gospel reveals Jesus Christ as our ultimate wisdom and righteous Redeemer.
Place your full trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, trusting Him to align your heart with His eternal purpose even in mysterious circumstances.
Quick Insights
- Jesus entered our broken world to redeem what we could never fix.
- Our righteousness is found in Christ alone, not in our performance.
- The cross transforms life's greatest crookedness into eternal victory.
Bottom Line
When God permits crooked paths and unexpected trials in our lives, He is calling us to surrender our illusion of control and rest completely in His sovereign wisdom and grace.
Memorable Quote
We cannot straighten what God has bent, but we can trust the sovereign hands that hold every season of our lives.
Theological Point
This passage demonstrates the doctrine of divine providence, teaching that God exercises ultimate, wise sovereignty over all human circumstances, weaving both prosperity and adversity for His glory and humanity's spiritual growth.
Prayer Guide
- Ask God to forgive our desire for self-sufficiency and control.
- Pray for spiritual discernment to accept God's sovereign timing in difficult seasons.
- Seek God's help to cultivate a reverent fear of the Lord in daily life.
- Thank God for sending Jesus Christ to bring eternal redemption out of our earthly brokenness.
Responding to God’s Word
When God Makes Things Crooked, our flesh rebels and demands immediate answers, but faith responds with humble submission and worship. Ecclesiastes 7 reminds us that God is actively at work even in the perplexing detours of our journey. We do not need to understand every detail of His plan to know that His character is good and His purpose is secure. Ultimately, the crookedness of our fallen world points us to Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the ultimate burden of human sin and suffering on the cross. Through His resurrection, Christ demonstrated that God can take what appears broken and turn it into eternal victory. Today, step away from self-reliance, abandon legalistic pride, and fix your heart upon the Savior who walks with you through every season.
