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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Mankind’s failure to find satisfaction in life “under the sun” is actually a gift of love, for if men could find meaning apart from you, what hope would there be for their souls? You made sure that true happiness and fulfillment are found only in you, and you call everyone to come and find contentment in your love. What a wise and wonderful God you are! Praise the Lord! Today in Your Word Today you shared with me more of Solomon’s reflections on his attempt to find meaning and fulfillment in life “under the sun” (cf. Ecc 1:3). He observed that many who work hard are deprived of the benefits of their labor, while others receive the benefits but are unable to find contentment in their wealth. “This also is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecc 4:16). Yet Solomon discovered something that he described as “the gift of God”: the ability to receive the fruit of your labor and to enjoy that fruit in peace and happiness. This teaches me that you are the one who gives me the ability to find satisfaction in my work. If I put you first and labor faithfully where you have placed me, you will help me find contentment in the work you have given me. It also shows me that within the context of a right relationship with you, there is great value in even the most ordinary tasks of life. When my heart is united with the source of all meaning and value, then my personal efforts and endeavors also have meaning and value! Reflection “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (Ecc 7:2 NIV). If I treat each day as though it were my last, I will live with a zeal and enthusiasm that is tempered by wisdom and discretion. Request Father, help me to find balance in life. May I not go beyond what is written in an attempt to be overly righteous (Ecc 7:16; cf. 1 Cor 4:6), and may I never destroy myself in an attempt to be overly wicked (Ecc 7:17). Grant me moderation in all things, and above all, a spirit of love! Thanksgiving Thank you for the bad times as well as the good, for I realize that you have made the one as well as the other (Ecc 7:14). I rest content in the knowledge that you always have my best at heart, and nothing can separate me from you as long as I cling tightly to your hand! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “What I've Found in Jesus” — Otto Bolds. Meditation Verse: Ecclesiastes 7:5. |