“Cast your bread upon the waters.”     Ecc 11:1 NIV

The Risk and the Return

The Bible says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” Notice two things in this Scripture: (1) The risk requires faith. At first this verse doesn’t make sense. When you “cast your bread upon the waters,” the best you can hope to get back is mushy, waterlogged bread, right? Its meaning becomes clearer, however, when you realize it was written in a culture where seafood was the basis of trade and economic survival. Throwing bread into the water attracted fish, which you could then catch. There are important spiritual principles at work in this Scripture. For example, catching fish depends on the current flowing in the right direction, the sun, the moon, and other elements only God can control. But when you do your part, God promises to do His. George Müller said, “Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.” (2) The return requires patience. “After many days you will find it again.” You ask, “When will it happen?” When God is ready, when He knows you are ready, and when it all fits into His plan. The Bible tells us to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Heb 6:12 NIV). You need faith and patience to receive what God has promised. And even when you don’t know what’s ahead, you can be sure of one thing—God will be there. Today He’s calling you to choose faith, even when you don’t know what’s on the other side. ( bob gass)