“You can’t predict misfortune. Life has chaotic things happen beyond our control. Life has those random moments where we can’t predict it coming. This world seems so backwards and there is so much injustice all over. You can become despondent and depressed. Cynicism gets a hold of your heart; where you start to hate life and the wisdom of God doesn’t seem to work. So, why try to continue forward? Well, the preacher in Ecclesiastes acknowledges the nihilism, the injustice, the randomness, the tragedy, the brokenness, the depression, and the darkness in life. But what is astounding, is that he doesn’t go there. He doesn’t give into it. This is what I love about Christianity. It’s not afraid to speak truth about the darkness in this world. The Bible doesn’t turn a blind eye to the challenges, difficulty, or to the pain. It gives darkness its due. Ecclesiastes pushes us into the personal mystery and darkness in this world; and makes us face it. Ecclesiastes points towards something that we actually have a better vantage point to. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, it’s only going to be solved when we assume there is a greater mystery and that mystery is found in God. And in fact what we know - on this side of Christmas - on this side of the life of Jesus; is that a God takes on the mystery of darkness to the cross. The cross tells us that God entered the darkness taking on all of the injustice of the people and the wrong in this world. And there on the cross does He enter into that; the darkness. The darkest of darkness. He has done something beyond our comprehension. Beyond our knowledge to undo that. To bring what the Bible calls SHALOM in this world. In Revelation 22:5 says, ‘And darkness was no more.’ It’s been the things that have been the hardest for me; where God has walked with me in through those things I felt the most transformation. Even though I would not want that darkness ever again; I have the most joy and treasure what God did in those moments. God can take our greatest difficulties and suffering and turn it into His greatest triumphs through Christ.”