Have you ever put something off thinking, “I’ll get to it later”? We all do that. But Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 gives a strong warning about waiting too long.
The Bible says,
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
That verse is short but powerful. It’s saying—whatever job, calling, or responsibility God gave you, go all in. Don’t just halfway do it. Why? Because once your life is over, the work is over too.
There’s no second chance. No do-overs. No tools in the grave. No trophies, either.
Once you’re gone, you can’t teach that class. You can’t reach that soul. You can’t raise your kids again. You can’t fix that marriage. You can’t serve at church. The tools you had—your time, your talents, your energy—get buried with you. And the trophies? Those rewards for faithfulness? You only earn those now.
Then verse 11 gives us something else to think about:
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…”
In other words, just being fast or strong doesn’t mean you’ll win. Life doesn’t always go the way we think it should. Things happen that are out of our control.
That means we can’t count on later. We can’t say, “Once I get older, I’ll get serious.” Or “When things calm down, I’ll start doing more for God.” You might never get that chance.
So, what should we do? Grab hold of what God gave you and do it now. With all your might. With everything you’ve got.
Because there are no tools in the grave. And no trophies either.
