The Purpose of Perplexity: Our Joy in God’s Sovereignty

Five insights into making God’s sovereignty the foundation of persistent joy.

You can usually bet that when the season changes, the weather changes accordingly. Certain weather is appropriate and fitting for certain seasons. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Solomon recognizes something similar about life. There is a season for every event of life each of us experiences. In other words, everything that happens in our lives is appropriate, fitting, and right for the season it arrives with. The difference: We can’t usually predict these events, and we don’t always know the reason for the season. This can be perplexing. Undeniably, each season has the potential both for joy and pain; for hardship and gladness; for gain and loss; for laughter and mourning; for healing and breaking – and everything in between! When Solomon reflects on this perplexing reality, he returns to a familiar refrain: “This is God’s gift to man.” Surprised? Why is this a gift? Such a perplexity is designed to turn our heads away from the passing events of our lives, up to the God of whom Solomon says, whatever he does “endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him” (v. 14). Believing and living by this truth is one of Solomon’s secrets to a joyful life that focuses on eternal things.

Jared Millican

Former college pastor at Faith, Jared and his family are currently preparing to move to the Czech Republic and work as global outreach partners in 2024. He and his wife, Claire, have three children.

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