Episode 408: I’m Talkin…Never

I’m Talkin’, episode 408 for February 8th, 2026.

This is Joel from the I’m Talkin’ microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking never.

Never is a simple word.

It means exactly what it says.

And there’s just a sense of finality to it.

And often in my life, I try to stay away from those absolutes, the always, the nevers, and try to make sure that when I use those words that it’s correct, that it is something that never happens or will never happen or whatever sense of the word that you are using it.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

Today’s word comes from Ecclesiastes 11.4 that says, Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant, and those who watch every cloud never harvest.

So those are absolutes.

It’s kind of interesting.

Not many of us maybe are farmers.

I grew up with a grandfather who was a farmer.

So I get some grasp of that.

But the reality is that we serve a God who is a God of absolutes.

But as always, we need to take these verses in context.

If you remember from the beginning of the year, my word of the year is intentional.

And so that’s the idea of this verse.

It’s like if you’re waiting for things to be perfect, if you’re always looking for the just right time for action, then you may be stagnant and never do anything.

But let’s look at the context around this verse in Ecclesiastes.

The context of the verse from Ecclesiastes 11.4, it starts at the beginning of the chapter and says, Send your grain across the seas, and in time profits will flow back to you.

But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risk might lie ahead.

When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.

Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.

If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mysteries of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God who does all things.

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another or maybe both.

These verses talk about the uncertainty of life, where when we try to make our plans, they don’t always happen the exact way we think they might or we think they should.

And we as Christians trust in the sovereignty of God, and we trust that if we do the things that he has asked us to do, then things will work out.

That’s kind of the way we believe because of who God is.

But then we have to use wisdom in our actions, and it says, you know, divide your investments.

It says you’re not sure what activity is going to lead to prosperity and which activities won’t, even though both feel like they should be correct.

But what God provides us as Christians is a wisdom from the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us so that we are not stagnant.

We are not afraid of non-perfection because we serve a perfect God.

And in that wisdom, we can act knowing that he is in control and knowing that if we act according to his will, then we will see fruit from our actions.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking microcast.