Been there Done that

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

If you’re wondering where that’s from, no, it’s not a Chinese proverb, nor a reading from a fortune cookie. It’s not something my grandma used to say.

It’s from the Bible. Seriously. It’s from one of my favorite books in the Bible, Ecclesiastes. I find it very simple but very profound.

What has been is what will be. How often have you wished life had a rewind button? If I could just go back to that point in that relationship where I hadn’t said that word. Would we still be friends? Would we have gotten married? Would I have gotten that job interview? If I would have just taken that other way home, maybe he’d still be alive.

If I would have just….you fill the blank. Everyone has a blank to fill. Life’s regrets eat us up. And to that the Lord answers:

What has been is what will be.

You can’t change what has already happened. You can’t make past things unpast. You can move beyond them, and you can grow from them, you can even forget about them – most days – but you can’t change what has already taken place.

But then this amazing statement: What has been done is what will be done.

It’s not a rewording of the first part of the verse. This is taking it a step further. This is saying that if you could replay it again, it would happen the same way again. What has been done, is what will be done.

God is sovereign. It wasn’t a mistake. It was meant to be. For better or for worse, God intended for that situation to unfold the way it did. His hand was over you then and it remains over you now. He wasn’t surprised by the turn of events. In fact, what has been done, well, given a chance at a replay, is what will be done.

I don’t know about you but I am so reassured by that knowledge. No regrets, no surprises, no need for a playback. This isn’t John Madden’s Fantasy Football. This is life. And God has his pulse on mine.

I know some of you are thinking about your part in this and shaking your head in disagreement. But, you’re saying, you don’t know my part in this. You don’t know the mistakes I’ve made.

No I don’t, but He does, and He knew about them before you made them, and He still knew where things would be and where things were going.

He’s got you covered. And I mean that literally. Christ’s blood covers my mistakes. His love covers my insecurities. His presence covers my future.

And lastly: there is nothing new under the sun.

In other words, if you’ve heard this stuff before, well, get a life, it says it right there: nothing new that I’m gonna tell ya. It’s all be said before.

Now let it sink in.

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