Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is for one to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun all the days which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] part. Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God [to him].
I want you to notice the words allotted part and appointed lot in the above passage. What King Solomon is basically communicating here is this message: Enjoy your life. Take your appointed lot in life and enjoy it. In other words, embrace the life—the personality, the strengths and weaknesses, the family, the resources, the opportunities, the physical qualities, the abilities, the gifts, and the uniqueness— God has given you.
The only life you can enjoy is your own. That statement may seem so obvious that it's unnecessary but think about it. One of the primary reasons many people do not enjoy their lives is because they are not happy with the lives they have. When I speak to them about enjoying their lives, the first thought they often have is, I would enjoy my life if I had your life, Joyce! Instead of embracing the realities of their lives, these people spend their time thinking, I wish I looked like So-and-So. I wish I had So-and-So's job. I wish I was married. I wish my marriage wasn't so difficult. I wish I had children. I wish my children would grow up. I wish I had a new house. I wish I didn't have such a big house to clean. I wish I had a big ministry…
The truth of the matter is the first step to enjoying our everyday lives is to be grateful for the lives we've been given. We must not allow jealousy to cause us to be absent from our own lives because we want what someone else has. You have to take what you have and decide you are going to do the best you can with it. What are you doing with what you have been given?
Prayer of the Day: Father, help me to trust You and be faithful with the life You have given me and not to compare my life with the lives of others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
