Ecclesiastes 10:18 – “By laziness, the rafters sag, and by idle hands, the house leaks.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated upon the Word of God, the words surrender, and commitment kept echoing in my heart and mind.

Ecclesiastes 10:18 is an interesting verse.  Let’s ask a question before we relegate that entirely to the natural.   How does laziness cause the rafters of a house to sag?  The rafters are rafters and being industrious or lazy does not alter their physical properties, does it? If we were talking solely natural, no!

Sagging rafters and leaky roofs?  Let me share what the Holy Spirit prompted me to contemplate.   We must constantly address areas of potential weakness and moral failure in our spiritual lives.   The rafters hold our covering in place.  If the support system fails or becomes weak, the strain in the structure will become leaky, and all in the house will be affected.

The umbrella or roof of protection (our intimacy with Jesus through the Holy Spirit) requires continuous maintenance – prayer, fellowship with Him, spiritual nourishment, and obedience to His Word.

Our lives are spiritual houses, and we are living stones.   We are living organisms, not fixed inordinate structures.   Therefore, if we become lazy, we allow our support system to weaken and sag, which causes our roofs (covering) to develop holes, allowing the enemy to penetrate.

Ecclesiastes 11:3-4 – “If the clouds are full, they empty out rain on the earth.”  What we are filled with, we give out.  If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will overflow and impact others.  If our covering is secure, we can release what we have freely without spending an inordinate amount of time and energy dealing with the evil that penetrated our leaky roofs.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 – “In the morning (before anything else) sow your seed (prayer), and in the evening do not let your hand be idle (begin and end the day in God’s presence), for you do not know if this or that will succeed (we don’t know what tomorrow holds, God does), or if both will prosper together.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10 – urges us to commit fully through complete surrender – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength…”   What God directs requires our full investment.  What is most important to us will be pursued by us the most.  What we invest ourselves in reveals (exposes) our view of God and life.

No more sagging rafters and leaky roofs.  We have the strength of the Holy Spirit, the Wisdom of God, and the grace of Jesus.  We are being continually transformed.

Do not allow your rafters to sag through laziness.  Be diligent in the spirit and fully surrender to God!