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April 24 Daily Devotional

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

Peter G. Feenstra

Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1

Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 11:1–6

Devotional

What does the Preacher mean when he says, “Cast your bread upon the waters”? The proverb seems somewhat bizarre. We watch children by river parks feeding the ducks with little pieces of bread. They cast their bread on the water but they do not expect the bread to come back. If the birds don’t eat it, the bread will become soggy and sink away.

Having described the many dead-end streets of an under-the-sun perspective on life, the Preacher challenges us to do what society considers strange: to invest in those things having eternal value. We are to take what the Lord has given to us and scatter it on the waters of life. There is no gain in wasting what has been entrusted to us by using it for ourselves. We are to cast on the waters our time, talents and resources, confident that the Lord will bless all those efforts that promote His honour and reputation and seek the furtherance of His church and kingdom. We cast our bread on the waters by educating children in the ways of God’s covenant as an investment in the kingdom of heaven. The secular mind does not understand why we donate generously to support the ministry of the gospel, but it is a way of casting our bread on the waters.

Proceeding in faith doesn’t mean immediate or instant results. We cast our bread on the waters, confident we will find it back after many days. Are you prepared to cast your bread on the waters—to share of your resources, gifts, talents, love, care, and throw them on the open seas? Do you take what has been given to you and use it for God’s glory and not your own? The Preacher encourages us to be enthusiastic about the variety of opportunities the Lord gives us. Don’t allow uncertainty or “what ifs” to hold you back or paralyse you. Verse 4 says, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” If a farmer thinks throughout the summer, “I had better not cut any hay because it looks like it is going to rain,” he will never get a harvest. Think of the many times we have wasted opportunities to enjoy and unpack the riches of God’s grace because we hesitated, were too busy with other things, or were held back by fear. Cast your bread upon the waters! Explore the multi-faceted beauty of the Lord’s creation and His manifold works of salvation. Enjoy all He has given you in Christ Jesus, remembering that, as a child of God, you cast your bread upon the waters of God’s promises.

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