11 "Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will 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 the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgement.
10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity."
Ecclesiastes 11:1-10
There is yet another application of these words, to spiritual categories, and as such they give a good and practical exhortation for spiritual service. Our job is to sow the seed (1, 6); it is God's prerogative to give the increase, the fruit and the harvest. We must therefore be instant in season, out of season. We are not to wait for ideal circumstances in which to serve or witness, for there are no ideal circumstances. Christ thrusts us into situations that are far from ideal and requires us to witness in them. We should remember the parable of the sower. Our Lord gave no guarantee that all the seed would bear fruit, and we must be realistic enough to understand this and accept it, and not be discouraged when our testimony seems to be unavailing. Of course there are difficulties, but then, did we really expect to be 'carried to the sky on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sail the bloody seas'? Could it just be that looking for easy, ideal circumstances, ideal situations, in which to bear witness to Christ is evidence that we have not grown up spiritually or indeed psychologically? Risks? Of course there are risks. Sometimes we are afraid to speak lest we say the wrong thing, but this is an attitude that can paralyse us, and paralysed Christians are no good to anybody. So often, the risk is infinitely worth taking; and even if we do make a mistake the Lord is able, as we have already seen (cf 2 Kings 4 and 6), to overrule our mistakes and turn them to good. Surely this ought to encourage us: nothing venture, nothing win.