Written By Minister Carolyn L. Jacobs, Jacksonville District
Wait! Don’t let the title of this article stop you from reading it. Actually ‘What’s Up Dog’ is just a play on words from Ecclesiastes 9:4. The writer Solomon, who we know as the wisest man that ever lived, penned insightful words from that scripture that transcended time. As I encountered Solomon’s wisdom, the Holy Spirit ministered to my heart and the word became Rhema to me. So, I felt led to share what I learned with others. I pray that the substance of this article will both enrich your thinking, encourage your heart and bless you, just as it has blessed me.
A Surprise Connection
As with most of you, I’ve heard and said many times, “Where there is life, there is hope,” but I never realized that the saying was biblical based. So imagine my surprise when, while reading a daily devotional, I came across the words from Ecclesiastes 9:4. Believe me, I never recall ever having read this passage in the Bible in my 30+ years of salvation. So when I found those words, a new dimensions of thankfulness and appreciation opened up for me, along with fresh joy for each new day, and the for potential that each day promises.
Ecclesiastes 9:4-10
4 Anyone who is among the living has hope — even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. 7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
If you have the ability to inhale and exhale every day, then you have hope. What Solomon is saying is that, if you are alive you’ve got a chance to do something special with your life. The cliché, “where there is life, there is hope” is actually a reality of life. As long as we are alive, we have hope for forgiveness, hope for love, hope for joy, hope for peace, hope for prosperity, and we have hope for salvation. Every day that we arise, God is giving us another day of hope. Each new day should be a day of thanksgiving and praise to our God for who He is and because we are alive.
BEGIN Each Day with a Grateful Heart
As big and bad as a lion is, “the King of the Jungle,” when he is dead; all hope for him is gone. Solomon was so unwavering in his belief that he compared a living dog to a dead lion. In the jungle, a dog would not stand a chance against a lion; but, if that lion is dead and the dog is living, which one is in the better situation?
1. How can we relate this to our everyday life?
So often people go about life on a daily basis, complaining and “seeing the glass half empty, instead of half full.” Nothing but doom and gloom – but the very fact that we are still alive and counted among the living, gives us hope. As bad as your life situation may be, it could be worse. A living dog can still find a bone but a dead lion becomes a bone; a living dog can still wag his tail but a dead lion is a stiffen carcass; a living dog can still get a pat on the head from its owner but a dead lion is left for the buzzards to devour.
We are living – we have hope. We can dream, we can plan, we can have a fresh start. You might be thinking that life has passed you by, but if you’re still breathing, God has given you a chance for your dreams to become a reality.
2. Have you ever felt like life has passed you by?
So often people look at the past with regrets and disappointment. I encourage you to look ahead. It takes more effort to look back than it does to focus on what’s ahead of you and what the future holds.
Philippians 3:13 – Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reachig forth to those things which are before.
Even though the future is ahead of us, we don’t want to miss out on the moment that is now! Don’t miss out on the present possibilities because we’re not looking at what’s right in front of us. We need to thank God and appreciate him for each new day. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised. So let’s enjoy the present and receive it as a gift from God.
Lamentations 3:20, 21 – It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning great is thy faithfulness.
3. How can I be a living dog with hope?
a. Get engaged with life. Make your life count for something. The greatest opportunity for life and hope is through Jesus Christ. John 10:10 b – I am come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
b. Be positive. See every day as an opportunity. An opportunity for God to do something great in your life. Count each day as a blessing from Him. We are lavishly loved by God. We are His wonderful creation.
c. Be enthusiastic. Be enthusiastic about your day – others will get annoyed that you are “bubbly,” some may think you’re weird and still others will find it contagious and they too will become enthusiastic. Hang around those people. A smile doesn’t hurt your face. Proverbs 17:22 AMP – A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
d. Be a servant. Nothing opens the door of possibilities wider than when you begin your day with a servant’s heart. When you are looking for ways to help others, God miraculously provides ample opportunity for you to do just that. Those possibilities are always there, we just aren’t looking for them. Proverbs 11:25 AMP – The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.
Luke 6:38 – Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
SERVANTHOOD
Is God’s way of making us great. That’s because God created us to be happiest, and most fulfilled, and most at peace, when we learn to serve others. Matthew 20:26, 27 – But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.
e. Be all you can be. We must give our best in everything we do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
THE STORY OF THE DASH
It is the time between our birth and death that matters the MOST!
f. Be a difference maker. Making a difference in someone’s life, will add value to their life. If we are to make the most of the possibilities in our life, we must help others make the most of the possibilities in their life. When we do that, so much more good can happen. How do we add
value to others? It starts by seeing the possibilities in “them”. If you see great potential in a person, begin to encourage that potential and raise your level of expectation, you might be surprised at what that person is capable of.
g. Be generous. Some of the most successful people are also the most generous people. We need to be generous with our gifts, our praise and our time. Our Great Provider has given to us that we might be able to share with others. What we have in our possession is only on loan. Imagine the possibilities of our generosity.
h. Be thankful. It is God that makes all things possible. So for every possibility that God presents to us, let us be ever thankful for it. That spirit of thankfulness helps to keep us humble. It also gives honor where honor belongs – to God.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 - Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
Where there is life, there is hope is the truth of this scripture. The wonderful thing about it is, it includes everyone, believer and unbeliever. To each of us, there is hope in God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To the believer death is not the end of the story but the beginning of eternal life in the presence of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 – We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
HOPE is vital - in fact it’s CRITICAL - for our everyday survival in life. Our hope, as Christians, is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Hope for the unbeliever is in Jesus Christ and His righteousness, therefore we cannot give up on them As long as the unbeliever is among the living he has hope:
HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF GOD.
2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
HOPE IN THE LOVE OF GOD.
Romans 5:8 – But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
HOPE IN THE PEACE OF GOD.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
HOPE OF SALVATION IN GOD.
Acts 2:21 – And it shall come to pass, that whosoever (anyone) shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.