Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13

Scripture: I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

Observation:  There is NO GOOD in them...

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. " (Romans 3:10-12)  

These two scriptures compliment each other so well, and I have never seen them out together... There is no good in them, there is none righteous, they are together become unprofitable... That sounds like so much of our society...

In my previous post, I commented on the fact that work is a blessing, not a curse... This verse goes along on the sames lines... Every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour.

God wants us to be happy... He didn't give us work to discourage us, or to waste our time. He wants us to rejoice and to do good, to enjoy the good of our labour, to seek after Him and to be profitable (and not only profitable in the monetary sense... there is a lot more to profit than just money...) 

It is possible to enjoy our the good of our labour no matter what it is that we are doing. We may hate the work, we may not get along with our co-workers, we may face strife and contention at every turn... but there is always joy to be found if we are doing the work for God. 


Application: I want everything that I do in my life to bring honor and glory to God. I want to rejoice always, and to give thanks in everything. No matter if I am pruning roses, pulling thistles or cleaning up dog poop... I want to enjoy working for God. He has not only told us to do so, and told us that the work is a gift, but He has made it easy to obey... All we really have to do is remember that we are working for GOD!  The very first bible verse I ever memorized was Colossians 3:23

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; "

And that is exactly what I plan on doing. I know that no matter what it is that I am required to do, I can enjoy the work, and I need to do my best because I am doing it for God... even if it is only cleaning up dog poop.... (Can you guess what I am doing today?)

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to find joy in everything that I do, knowing that I am doing it for You. Help the joy in my life to be so evident that it makes people stop and stare. Lord, I want to serve You with everything that I have and am, and I know that is only possible through Your grace and power. Please help me. Please help me to leave an example that will lead others directly to You. Thank you for the gift of work, for the ability to do the work, and the joy that may be found therein. Please help me not to take it for granted. In Jesus name, Amen.