Lord, thank you for another day to love and serve you. Speak to me today through your precious word. Quiet my mind so that I might clearly hear your voice. Amen
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NIV)
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
I can certainly relate to this poignant observation by Solomon. As our pastor said last Sunday, the book of Ecclesiastes, “resonates with the core of reality.” I freely admit that I have sought after many things in my life that I believed would bring me joy, pleasure or happiness only to find disappointment and frustration.
God doesn't want it to be that way. He wants me to know my destiny and the purpose for my life. He wants me to fully enjoy where I am today on the way to where I’m headed in the future. Even at my advanced age He is helping me to discover, sometimes gently and sometimes painfully, that life is less about being called to things but to a person. It’s less about ‘the what’ of life and more about ‘the who.’
When Jesus says in John’s gospel, “I have come that they (you) may have life, and have it to the full,” he is not only referring to the salvation that he has won for me on the cross, but on the life he desires for me to live and have today. I have learned that when my life is focused on Him, He leads me into fruitful and meaningful endeavors. He is faithful in using all the gifts that He has given to me for the benefit of His kingdom and His glory. He walks with me on this awesome journey called life. While the journey can from time to time get a little rugged, I have found it gives my life a unique purpose and meaning.
Lord, help me to focus on you today. Let me know the joy of walking through this life with you. Guide the steps of my journey and fill my life with purpose and meaning. Thank you for your promise to walk with me as I journey through life. Amen
John