Ecclesiastes 11:1-10: in context

The Preacher, who has spoken much of the uncertainty of life, gives counsel about how to act in the face of it. Cast your bread on the waters, he says, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come. He who watches the wind will never sow, and he who looks at the clouds will never reap. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will do well.

The Preacher's counsel is to act despite uncertainty. We do not know the future; we cannot be sure which of our efforts will prosper, when disaster may come, or how things will turn out. And there are two ways to respond to this uncertainty. One is paralysis: to wait for perfect conditions, to hold back until we can be sure of the outcome, to observe the wind and the clouds endlessly and never sow. The Preacher warns against this: he who watches the wind will never sow, and he who regards the clouds will never reap; the one who waits for certainty before acting will never act at all. The other response, which the Preacher commends, is diligent, generous action: sow your seed in the morning and the evening, cast your bread on the waters, give freely, act, work, and leave the results to God, who alone knows what will prosper. This is wisdom for our own uncertainty. We often want certainty before we act: to know that our effort will succeed, that our giving will be well used, that the outcome will be good, before we will sow, work, or give. But such certainty is rarely available; and to wait for it is to be paralyzed, to observe the wind and never sow. The Preacher counsels us to act despite the uncertainty: to do the good before us, to sow diligently, to give generously, to work faithfully, without knowing which effort will prosper, leaving the results to God. Let us not grow weary in doing good, Paul says, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. We act, sow, and give in faith, and leave the outcome to God. This frees us from the paralysis of uncertainty. We do not need to know how things will turn out before we act; we are called to do the good before us diligently and generously, to sow our seed morning and evening, and to trust God with the results. The one who waits for perfect conditions will never sow; but the one who sows despite uncertainty, leaving the harvest to God, will reap in due season. This calls us to diligent, generous action despite the uncertainty of life. The Preacher counsels us to sow our seed and cast our bread and give freely, not paralyzed by not knowing which will prosper, but doing the good before us and trusting God with the outcome. And we are called to the same: to act, sow, work, and give diligently and generously, without waiting for the certainty we will rarely have, leaving the results to the God who knows what will prosper, and refusing the paralysis that watches the wind and never sows.

Do I wait for certainty before I act, holding back from sowing, working, or giving until I can be sure of the outcome, and so remain paralyzed, watching the wind and never sowing, and can the Preacher's counsel to sow my seed in the morning and the evening, casting my bread on the waters and giving freely because I do not know which will prosper, move me to diligent, generous action despite the uncertainty of life, doing the good before me and trusting God with the results rather than waiting for a certainty I will rarely have?