Monday Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:11-15
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:13
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
Devotion:
Each time I have seen this passage being used it is to try and show that we are allowed to enjoy ourselves because God wants us to be happy. But I am going to look at things from a different angle today. Yes, God wants us to be happy. But what actually makes you happy? Does working for yourself make you happier than working for others, or the other way round? Most of us would rather be doing something for someone else so that we can make them happy – that in itself will make us happier as well.
Yes, doing things for others is more than likely to make you happy, but you also have to be able to do things your way so that you can get the satisfaction. We all like to be able to make our own mark or stamp our seal on what we are doing. Does that mean it is all about us being able to do things our own way? Not really. If we do things our own way and we know that that is not the right way, then we will realise that we are not doing things the best possible way and we will become disillusioned or disgruntled with the way things are being done. The same can be said about not being able to do things our own way... So where should we be aiming?
There-in lies the truth. We should be aiming at doing things in the best possible way. There is, ultimately, only one best way of doing everything and being able to find that way is sometimes what gives us inspiration. God is the one who does know what is best for us as well as knowing the best ways of doing things. If we were to listen to Him every time we go forward to do anything, we would automatically end up doing things the best possible way – so long as we did it right! We may not be able to do it right, but by trying to do things God’s way we will find that we do get the most out of it for ourselves.
Points to Ponder:
Do you do things your own way?
How often do you try God’s ways?