Cast Your Bread

Cast Your Bread

Ecclesiastes 11:1

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

The book of Ecclesiastes presents us with what may very well be the greatest tension in life: God is sovereign, He’s in complete control... yet... life can feel very chaotic and unpredictable from our point of view (in other words, it can feel out of control). Our scripture stands at the threshold of the book’s final exhortations, calling us to do something... to invest something... not with reckless optimism, but with faithful trust.

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes makes it clear that we cannot control outcomes, predict the future, or secure meaning “in-and-of” ourselves. Our own wisdom simply won’t do. It’s “meaningless” - it’s “vanity.” Yet the “teacher” or the “preacher” does not call us to paralysis or despair. Instead, he calls us to faithful obedience in the face of uncertainty.

“Cast your bread upon the waters” is an image drawn from the ancient world... which was far more “hand-to-mouth” than the world is today. There were limited “safety-nets” - so when you shipped your grain off to be sold, it required faith... patience... and a goodly dose of trust in others for your investment to produce a good return.

Of course, bread represents sustenance... that which sustains life—resources, labor, effort. Casting such things upon the waters suggests risk, trust, and delayed return.

Don’t misunderstand... God’s Word doesn’t call us to foolish waste, but to trusting investment. The preacher is saying: Do what is right and faithful, even when the results are unseen or uncertain.

For Reformed Christians, such as we Presbyterians, this echoes a central biblical truth that’s at the heart of what we believe:

God ordains not only the ends (the outcome), but also the means (the process). When the Word of God tells us that He’s working “all things together for the good” - it means just that! All things. The welcomed, the unwelcomed - the joyful and the hurtful, the important and the mundane. He can even take those things in life that others intended for harm... for evil... to hurt us... and turn everything to our good. (Joseph). (Gen. 50:20)

All of this is to remind us that... as God said to Jeremiah... “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you... plans to give you hope and a future.” (29:11)

As people of faith... we do, we act, we trust... in obedience to our Lord, even when the outcome remains hidden in God’s providence.

The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us time and again that the future belongs to God alone (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:11; 8:17). Yet here, we are commanded to act anyway.

Of course some say, “Since God is sovereign, my actions don’t matter.” (Fatalism). Others say, “If I just do everything right, if I just check all the right boxes, I can guarantee the result.” (Presumption).

Both are wrong. Biblical faith insists that what we say, and do (how we act and respond) matters... our obedience matters because God has ordained obedience as His instrument.

John Calvin wrote: “The Lord has appointed to each his particular duty… and though the event {or outcome} is hidden from us, obedience is always our rule.”

Casting our bread is an act of faithful obedience — trusting that God governs the waters, the currents... the horizon that well beyond our view.

Of course, there’s a reward... a promise... in his verse that we need not overlook...

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

The promise is not for an immediate return on our investment, but eventually, our reward will come. Ecclesiastes does not say how or when the bread will return—only that it will.

God’s rewards may be delayed...

God’s purposes are often hidden from our sight...

But He is always faithful.

We live in a day-and-age that’s obsessed with instant results... we want it, and we want it now.

Ecclesiastes is a call to patience. Whether in generosity, ministry, parenting, vocation, or prayer... the majority of our Christian obedience bears fruit long after we are done casting. Obedience is our contribution; the results belong to God.

The biblical doctrine of providence assures us that no faithful act is wasted. As Paul later echoes:

“In due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

And all of this... everything we’ve been talking about... ultimately, points us beyond ourselves to Christ.

Think about it: Jesus was cast upon the waters of this fallen world—His life given, His body broken, His blood poured out—seemingly lost. On Good Friday, it appeared as though everything was wasted.

But after many days—on the third day—God brought resurrection.

Every faithful act of obedience finds its meaning in union with Christ. We cast our bread not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it in Christ.

Our scripture today is a call to live our lives in Christ wisely, as we invest our lives generously, and trust courageously under the sovereign hand of God.

May we:

Give, even when the return is uncertain.

Serve, even when recognition is absent.

Obey, even when results are unseen.

Because the God who governs the waters also remembers every loaf cast in faith.

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

Not because the waters are safe—but because the Lord is faithful.

Amen.