Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;
For there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. Ecclesiastes 9:10.

WORK IS A GIFT FROM GOD.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15.

Hard work and toil is part of God’s plan for humanity.

Whatever one’s vocation may be, sincere and serious effort brings glory to God.
God has designed work, so that it might be a blessing to us and others.

You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands;
You shall be blessed and it shall be well with you.
Psalm 128:2.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands upon us,
Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17.

Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3.

WORK AS THOUGH GOD IS THE BOSS.
Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24.

God provides each one of us with unique skills, gifts and talents suited for particular roles and activities.

We will be worthy of this calling if we are devoted in our relationship with Him and look to Him for guidance and strength.

Quality, character and ethics are foundational for our work as we will be judged and rewarded accordingly.

Our work has to be aligned with God’s moral standards, concerned with fair treatment of others and with a clear expression of Christ’s love for all people.

Humility and gratitude should be the hallmark of our work character , as being God’s ambassadors is a weighty, honoured responsibility.

Jesus answered them,
“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. “
John 5:17.

God continues to work to sustain His creation.
Lord Jesus demonstrated God’s caring heart in His work of healing, teaching, reconciling people to God and fellow beings.

May our Lord enable us to have a healthy work ethic in our lives.

Compiled by Shanti Jayanth, Madurai.

Solomon said, And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly… [Ecc 1:17 ESV]

Hmmm… he set his heart to KNOW – wisdom AND folly…

👉🏽 Doesn’t that sound remarkably like the choice Adam & Eve made to eat of the Tree of the KNOWledge of Good & Evil?

Man sought to gain intimate understanding of Good and Evil, so that he could be independent & make his choices without God’s help. He was seeking to be the master of his own destiny – his own “god”.

Ecclesiastes points out that Man’s attempts to be the “god” of his own life, to create his own happiness, to create his own glory, to create a “name” for himself – all end in futility. Because all that Man does is corrupted by the evil in Man’s heart, and is limited by the finiteness of Man’s wisdom & power.

One day, Creation will be rolled up like a scroll… and all that Man has done –our buildings, our libraries of wisdom, our Google-clouds of knowledge – will all vanish like a puff of smoke.
[Is 34:4]

Ecclesiastes points out that all human effort is wind-chasing, therefore those who are truly wise will fear God and seek Him because, whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it …
[Ecc 3:14 Rf also Ecc 5:7, 8:12-13, 12:13]

And because:
💫 The LORD endures forever
💫 He is King forever [Ps 9:7]
💫 His Name endures forever [Ps 72:17]
💫 His Glory endures forever [Ps 104:31]
💫 His righteousness endures forever [Ps 112:9]
💫 His Word endures forever [Is 40:8]
💫 His Truth endures forever [Ps 100:5]
💫 His Mercy endures forever [1 Chr 16:34]
💫His Praise endures forever [Ps 111:10]
…therefore, Solomon concludes:
👉🏽 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. [Ecc 12:13]

Jesus told the Parable of the 2 sons. The Elder Son stayed home and dutifully served his father… BUT… he never spent time getting to know the father’s heart. Though he spent a lifetime with the father, the father was a stranger to him. [Luke 15:25-30]

God doesn’t want grudging, loveless duty. He overflows with love towards us. He wants us to experience His love, KNOW His character, love Him, trust Him and delight to His will because we know His every thought & word is good.

Jesus came to bring us into fellowship with the Father – to know Him – to love Him and be loved by Him. [John 17:22-26]

So let us prayerfully sing:
🙏🏼🎶
Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the power of Your love
🙏🏼🎶
Hold me close
*Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I’ll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

AD

Look above the sun

Vanity comes from the words, in vain. So, the oft repeated vanity of vanities in Ecclesiastes refers to the greatest possible meaningless and unfruitful nature of human life.

Solomon came to this conclusion early in life as he kept looking at things under the sun, another oft repeated phrase in the book.

The final chapter however has a shift in focus; he raised his eyes above the sun to the Creator (Eccl 12:1 & 6).

If we do not lift our eyes to God when we are young and can work for Him with all our strength, in our old age, when we do our life audit, we will say with regret that our earlier life was, vanity of vanities – most useless.

Solomon tried to find happiness in earthly wisdom. He only found fatalism, pessimism, hedonism and all sorts of theories that cause depression. But when he finally lifted his eyes above the sun, he found peace.

Let us be like his father, David. Rather than looking at the hills under the sun, he looked at the Creator who made heaven and earth (Ps 121:1).

Let us look at God, fear Him and serve Him. Looking above the sun at the Creator will never give us regret but peace.

Stay blessed.
Adeline Albert