I often think about how different my life might look had I made different choices. If I’d said yes to that opportunity. If I’d held on instead of letting go. If I’d chosen courage instead of comfort, or silence instead of speaking up. Like many of us, I replay the “what-ifs” and wonder how life would’ve unfolded had I taken a different path.
But Ecclesiastes 11:5 stops me in my tracks. It reminds me that I cannot possibly know the work of God. How He weaves every decision, detour, and delay into something meaningful. There’s no alternate version of my life where I can see what He would have allowed or withheld, because every scenario would still be filtered through His sovereign hand.
Even in seasons where I truly believed I made wise, Spirit-led choices, life didn’t always reward me with ease. Some decisions led to heartbreak, disappointment, or moments that felt unfair. And yet, time after time, I’ve watched God redeem the very things that once left me in tears. What felt like loss eventually revealed itself as protection. What looked like failure was actually preparation.
Romans 8:28 says that God uses everything for our good, but for years I saw that verse through the lens of my own definition of “good.” I thought it meant resolution, restoration, or reward. But Ecclesiastes helps me see that God’s good often looks nothing like what I would have chosen. His good might come through pruning instead of prosperity, stillness instead of success, or heartbreak that humbles instead of happiness that flatters.
And yet, His version of good is the only one that matters because His good leads to growth, character, and dependence on Him. The mystery is that even when I don’t understand His process, I can trust His purpose.
So these days, I’m learning to release the “what-ifs” and rest in the wonder. I may not know the path of the wind or the details of His plan, but I know the Maker. And for me, that’s enough.
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Golden Life Musings 