06/21/26 | Ecclesiastes | The Problem With God | Mark Anderson

Ecclesiastes 3 takes up the problem that comes after turning to God. Solomon has already said that meaning and purpose are found outside of the self by turning to God, but Solomon keeps writing because life with God still brings hard questions. The paradox is plain: a person needs God, but a person who commits to God will still have a problem with him at some point, especially when wrong things happen while right things are being done.

Solomon begins with the truth about time. “There is an occasion for everything and a time for every activity under heaven.” God’s sovereignty stands behind the good, the bad, and the ugly. The text does not pretend every season feels good or makes sense. The text says every season is under God’s appointed time.

The fourteen pairs show the whole spread of life under the sun. Birth and death, planting and uprooting, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, keeping and throwing away, silence and speaking, war and peace all belong to the life people actually experience. Solomon does not attach moral value to each line as if every action is automatically right. Solomon simply says, “This is the way it is,” and the question becomes how a person lives faithfully when life is in God’s hands but life still hurts.

Ecclesiastes then gives help through time. God has a purpose in all things, and that purpose is good, even when the thing itself is tragic. God makes everything appropriate, beautiful, or good in its time, though the human heart cannot discover his work from beginning to end. God has put eternity in the heart, so the question “why” keeps rising up. That mystery is not meant to drive a person away from God, but to press a person toward him.

Solomon also says to enjoy life. Eating, drinking, rejoicing, doing good, and enjoying the good gifts of God are not distractions from faith. They are gifts for the hard road. Tomorrow may hold a hard day, but today may still be received with gratitude.

God’s sovereignty finally becomes comfort, not trouble. What God does lasts forever, and he is not panicked, surprised, or reacting to Satan or man. God seeks what has been driven away, taking even the past and its pain and weaving it for good. The answer to suffering is not a detached God who only loves but cannot act. Christ came into the world, suffered, cried “why” from the cross, died for sin, and rose again, so the sufferer does not need every answer in order to make it through. The sufferer needs him.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God stands behind every season. God’s sovereignty is not limited to the parts of life that feel orderly or pleasant. Ecclesiastes 3 places birth and death, laughter and mourning, peace and war under the same appointed reality of God’s rule. That does not make evil good, but it does mean suffering is never outside the reach of God’s purpose. [04:41]
• 2. Mystery can become real strength. God has put eternity in the heart, so the question “why” is part of being human. The mystery of God’s plan is not proof that God is absent, but evidence that finite eyes cannot see beginning to end. Faith matures when unanswered questions drive the soul to God instead of away from him. [15:15]
• 3. Enjoyment is a gift from God. Solomon’s call to eat, drink, rejoice, and enjoy the good life is not shallow escapism. Enjoyment becomes obedience when it receives today as a gift rather than demanding control over yesterday or tomorrow. The good pleasures of life can strengthen faith for the hard days that will surely come. [17:30]
• 4. Sovereignty comforts suffering hearts. God’s control is not meant to trouble his people, but to steady them. If Satan were finally in control, hope would collapse under a weak god who cannot act. Ecclesiastes gives stronger ground: God’s work lasts forever, and nothing can be added to it or taken from it. [20:46]
• 5. Christ enters the question why. The cross shows that God did not detach himself from the world’s pain. Jesus himself asked “why” in suffering, and then conquered sin and death through resurrection. The suffering person may not receive every explanation, but Christ gives his presence, power, and confidence to come near.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:44] - The Problem With God
• [01:08] - Purpose, Paradox, and Ecclesiastes
• [02:16] - Turn, Turn, Turn and Ecclesiastes 3
• [03:24] - The Truth About Time
• [04:41] - God’s Sovereignty Over Every Season
• [06:19] - A Time for Every Activity
• [07:28] - Understanding Difficult Phrases
• [10:59] - Help for Life Under the Sun
• [11:31] - God’s Good Purpose in All Things
• [14:02] - The Mystery of God’s Plan
• [17:30] - Enjoy Life Today
• [20:46] - Resting in God’s Sovereignty
• [23:53] - When Bad Things Happen
• [25:08] - Christ Comes Into Suffering

Bible Reading
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain has the worker from his toil?
10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;
13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.
15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Matthew 6:33-34 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

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Observation questions

1. Ecclesiastes 3 lists 14 pairs of contrasting activities (e.g., birth/death, weeping/laughing). What do these pairs reveal about the range of human experiences under God’s sovereignty? [06:19]
2. According to Ecclesiastes 3:11, what two things has God given humanity, and what limitation does this create? [12:25]
3. How does the sermon describe the relationship between suffering and God’s purpose, using Romans 8:28 as a reference? [13:23]
4. What practical examples does Solomon give for how to live faithfully in Ecclesiastes 3:12-13?

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Interpretation questions

1. Why might Solomon avoid assigning moral labels (good/bad) to the activities listed in Ecclesiastes 3, even though some seem inherently negative (e.g., “a time to kill”)? [10:32]
2. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God “has put eternity into man’s heart.” How does this explain why humans persistently ask “why” in suffering, even when answers aren’t clear? [15:15]
3. The sermon argues that “enjoyment is obedience” when received as a gift. How does this view contrast with seeing pleasure as selfish or escapist? [17:30]
4. How does Jesus’ cry of “why” on the cross (Matthew 27:46) redefine the purpose of unanswered questions in a believer’s life? [25:35]

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Application questions

1. When have you struggled to reconcile a painful season (e.g., loss, conflict) with the belief that God is sovereign over it? What practical step could help you trust His purpose in that situation? [04:41]
2. Solomon urges finding joy in daily gifts like eating, drinking, and work. What is one simple pleasure or routine you often overlook that you could intentionally thank God for this week? [18:58]
3. The sermon says mystery in God’s plan is meant to drive us closer to Him, not away. How could you turn a current “why” question into an opportunity to seek God rather than demand answers? [14:02]
4. Ecclesiastes 3:15 says God “seeks what has been driven away” (e.g., past pain). Is there a past hurt or regret you need to surrender for God to redeem? What would that look like? [22:53]
5. How might your response to suffering change if you fully believed Christ’s resurrection means evil and pain will not have the final word? [25:08]
6. The sermon warns against letting tomorrow’s worries rob today’s joy. What is one anxiety about the future you need to release to focus on God’s gifts in the present? [19:49]