Coming to God When Life is Hard

In the midst of all our suffering, there is an important reality we must never forget: God is God and we are not. Of course, this seems so basic as to go unsaid. Yet, if we forget this fundamental Creator-creature distinction we will find ourselves in serious trouble. The fallen human heart is bent on self-exaltation, and in the absence of a big view of God, we will grow in our own self-perception. This is one reason (among many) we all need a steady diet of Scripture. In God’s Word we find ourselves being constantly corrected and our sinful propensities being curbed. One such corrective is found in Ecclesiastes 5:1-2:

“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”

Here Solomon counsels us on how we are to humbly come to God when life is hard. He lays out four exhortations we would do well to consider.

1. Be on Guard

“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God.”

This first exhortation is counterintuitive in an age where “God-is-my-homeboy” theology reigns supreme. Ours is a culture where casualness is equated with intimacy and Christians are often encouraged to just “talk to God like you talk to a friend.”

Yet, the idea here is that when we come to God, we ought to come to Him thoughtfully and with great reverence—especially in our suffering. God is God. He is not to be approached flippantly or casually. If we are to honor Him and be wise, we must be mindful of who He is when we come to Him. He is the living God and we are His creatures—sinful creatures at that. Of course, in Christ we have boldness and confidence to come before the all-glorious God (Ephesians 3:12). But our boldness is not mindless audacity, it is a courage to come to such a great being as God through Christ. It is confidence in the finished work of Christ that qualifies us to come before an otherwise unapproachable God (Hebrews 4:14-16). 

2. Come to Listen

“Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools.”

Solomon’s second guideline is aimed at our mouths. When we look at the difficulties of life and then come to God about them, we may be tempted to casually voice our complaints, or worse, to lecture God on His “error.” Solomon’s counsel is plain: Don’t do that!

When we are confronted with the injustices in the world and even the pains in our own life, we must come to God humbly and listen. That is, we come to hear His Word rather than give Him our word on the matter. This is exactly what Asaph expressed in Psalm 73. He looked around and observed the prosperity of the wicked and wrote down his honest evaluation (73:4-14). As he looked back on his situation, he realized that his feet had come “close to stumbling” and that his “steps had almost slipped” (73:2). He was about to vent his sinful evaluations in a careless way (73:15), but then he came to the “sanctuary of God” (73:17). Here, he drew near to “listen,” and he found that God had the answer to his problem. Most likely, Asaph received instruction from the priests who were responsible for faithfully expounding the Scriptures in addition to offering sacrifices (Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7). He guarded his steps and drew near to God to listen, not to lecture.

3. Don’t be Hasty

“Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God.”

The temptation when we see or experience an injustice is to rush into the throne room of God and lay bare our complaint or charge against Him. Solomon counsels us to fight against that inclination.

Literally, Solomon says, “Do not let your heart be hasty to cause a word to go out before God.” Solomon, of all people, knew that the operations of life and speech flowed from the heart (Proverbs 4:23). The concern here is that someone might, on an emotional impulse, storm the temple, as it were, and lay bare their thoughtless complaint before God. Of course, we can make our requests known to God, but again, Solomon’s general concern is a lack of reverence and specifically here a lack of discipline in speech and thought. It reminds us that God is not just concerned with our speech on a horizontal level (Proverbs 10:10, 19); He is concerned with our vertical speech as well. The wise person will keep watch over his heart (Proverbs 4:23) and restrain his tongue from speaking in an irreverent manner before God (Proverbs 17:27).

4. Limit Your Words

“For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”

Solomon’s fourth bit of counsel here seems strange to us. Why would we “let our words be few”? Surely God is our Father and loves to hear from us! Yet, the context of his counsel is the confusion we feel when we have observed suffering and injustices in the world and are inclined to go before God to air our disapproval (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3).

Solomon’s counsel is gold. It captures the heart of wisdom and gives us the only proper perspective. Why should we “let our words be few”? Answer: Because “God is in heaven and you are on earth.” That’s all you need to know.

From your creaturely, earthly, limited perspective, you have observed an injustice that you want remedied. You want it fixed now and you go to God to tell Him how He ought to be running His universe. And God simply says (as He said to Job): “Who are you, again? Are you the one who created the world and actively sustains it and all it contains? Are you the one who knows the end from the beginning? Are you the one who is actively orchestrating everything to its God-glorifying end?” Right. You are not. God is God, not you. You are on earth. Your perspective is extraordinarily limited. In fact, you literally cannot see what will happen in the next 30 seconds. You can hardly explain why you feel the way you do on any given occasion—much less explain the riddles of the universe.

From God’s heavenly perspective, everything is clear and in control. From our perspective things often seem the exact opposite. Yet, this is entirely the point Solomon wants to make in Ecclesiastes. In order to understand and enjoy life, you must get over the sun. Solomon isn’t saying we cannot express our hearts’ desires to God. He is just saying that when you do so, you must remember that you are His creature and He is God. To remember this is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).