The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11 NKJV)

The idea that Solomon endeavored to point out here is that it isn’t wise to rely on secular achievements for happiness, because at some point in time, those who are acknowledged as champions of success will no longer be able to accomplish what they achieved at their peak; for age wears on us in many ways and takes the glory of our youth away.

Moreover, there is always a chance that something could go wrong at any time, and the foundation that a person worked so hard to lay and build upon could collapse in but a moment and leave them with nothing but a mess. Hence, time and chance really can’t give us happiness as they are unreliable and whimsical.

Nevertheless, there is one thing that we can be sure to rely on:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV)

In other words, neither time nor chance can ever get the best of Jesus Christ because He does not change. This, of course, ought to be good news to us, because it assures us that Jesus performs His good works at full capacity all the time. Moreover, it affirms that what He wants for us is sure to succeed because He knows no failure. That is, He can’t fail!

Unfortunately, many people don’t see it this way. For rather than exercising wisdom in embracing the Eternal Life of Jesus Christ, many people foolishly go after things that are about to pass away, hoping to achieve fame, fortune and popularity. Thus they embark on a quest to become better than their peers; they want to run faster; they want to be stronger; they want to be wiser; they want to be wealthier, etc… But what good is all of this if it will fall victim to time and chance?

Indeed, people often try to measure success by their ability to obtain worldly things, while failing to understand that success is not measured by quantity, but in quality of life. You see, it’s not what you hold in your hand that makes you successful; it’s what you do with what you have in your hand that determines the measure of your success.

Are you hoarding things on earth in hope to be better than someone else in some way, or are you storing treasure up in heaven in hope to share the wealth of your happiness with others?

Don’t focus on what you lack in this world; instead, take hold of what matters most in life and never let go of it; live to be successful in Jesus Christ rather than to be another success story in a world that is about to close its final chapter on life.  In this way you will embrace something that time and chance will never be able to take away from you–true happiness in Jesus Christ.

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