Today’s reading: Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
Although Solomon’s approach in Ecclesiastes can come across as a tad melancholy, the underlying message–of making life meaningful and joyful by having and keeping an eternal focus–is absolutely positive. And when we look more closely, there are smaller positive instructions and lessons tucked in throughout the Book. One of those lessons stood out to me today. Here it is. That God expects us to do good for those around us, and in turn, wants us to enjoy and take pleasure in what He has provided for us as we live for Him.
As I look back over my life, doing good for others is something that I have always enjoyed. But it took some time for me (actually for my husband and me) to get completely comfortable with allowing ourselves to enjoy and take pleasure in what God had provided. That’s because our perspective, and thus our focus, was in the wrong place. We were concerned about storing up our funds for our earthly future rather than using some of our God-given resources (God’s gift) to enjoy the present, to build and grow our marriage, to spend time with and create special memories with our family. It took my husband battling cancer for us to realize exactly what Solomon addresses in Ecclesiastes–that our life is fleeting, it’s ever changing and that seeking after earthly rather than eternal benefits is meaningless. It’s now our practice to make sure we regularly set aside time and use some of our resources to enjoy God’s gift to us.
“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil–this is God’s gift to man” (vs. 12-13).
When was the last you set aside time and resources to enjoy the gifts that God has given you? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
