Nothing New Under the Sun

I'm not really a creative person. I love Pintrest and blog hopping because I always find good ideas to try without all the work of brainstorming and the additional mess of trial and error. 

Yesterday, however, I thought I  just surpassed myself. As I stared at my almost empty fridge and thought, "what should I make for supper?" a great idea came to me. I should take that frozen hamburger meat, cook it up with some carrots, peas, corn, and green beans, and smother it in homemade cream of chicken soup and cheese. THEN to make a good thing better, why not just top it all off with mashed potatoes?

He really likes the idea!

Sounds kinda crazy and delicious right?!?! A truly original recipe.

Wrong. My husband walks in and asks what's for dinner, so of course I tell him my fantastic new idea. He says, "oh you mean like Shepherd's Pie? My mom used to make that."

Seriously? So I googled Shepherd's Pie only to find out that my completely original hamburger and potato casserole has been eaten by English men for hundreds of years.

Apparently there is nothing new under the sun.

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

While this is a very depressing scripture when it's applied to hamburger and potato casserole Shepherd's Pie, it's very encouraging when I start to dwell on the weightier matters in life (yes, even weightier than food!). 

When I look at the culture around me, I am often overwhelmed with the amount of sin, selfishness, and evil. If you wonder what I'm talking about, just turn on your television. Or go to the movies. Or just pay attention to the conversations around you at the grocery story.  Everywhere we look we are bombarded with divorce, abortion, evolution, materialism, sexual immorality, and gossip.  Apparently living out the Christian faith just isn't cool anymore (was it ever?).

Yet, scripture teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun. What a relief!

Nothing we face in our world today, no trial, temptation, persecution, or difficulty is new. It's not new to Christian people, and it's definitely not new to God! We aren't suffering alone. We aren't the first to face this problem, and we won't be the last.

We are promised in scripture that we will face trials that we will be rejected by the world, but God has a plan. He's made provisions for those times when sin seems to overwhelm us. He promises to see us through even the most difficult of situations, just like he has for the countless believers before us, and he will continue to do for our children and grandchildren. 

What a relief to know that we serve a God who isn't surprised by sin, but who lovingly prepared a way for us to be forgiven and brought into fellowship with him!

So when I look at the world around me, I just can't help but smile. It may be full of hurt and evil, but it's nothing new for God. He already has it taken care of.