Over the last 18 months, I have worked my way through the Bible during my morning coffee time with God. I have three books left – Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and Revelation. I have procrastinated the study of these three books, and yet God’s timing is so perfect. I needed to hear what King Solomon had to say in this book.

Everything is meaningless. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. The wise and the foolish share the same fate – they both die. All of our hard work, everything we have earned or acquired, we leave behind to someone else. We cannot take it with us when we die. Most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. This is meaningless – like chasing after the wind. These are the thoughts of King Solomon after devoting himself to the search for understanding and exploring everything being done under the sun. He discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.

I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” – Ecclesiastes 2:1-2

I have to admit that Ecclesiastes is not one of my favorite books of the Bible. King Solomon initially comes across much like Winnie the Pooh’s friend, Eeyore. But, in the midst of Solomon’s cynical and negative rant, he offers us some great words of wisdom to live by. He teaches us how to relax in some of these negative realities and enjoy the life God has blessed us with.

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? – Eccl. 2:24-25

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people shout eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. – Eccl. 3:9-13

Another gift from God that Solomon highlights is our relationships with other people: Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help…A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken (4:9-12).

Solomon’s words of wisdom continue:
As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut…let your words be few…Keep all the promises you make to him…Don’t let your mouth make you sin…Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead (5:1-7).

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth – except perhaps to what it slip through your fingers!…Hoarding riches harms the saver…We can’t take our riches with us…And it is a good thing to receive wealth form God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past (5:10-20).

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless – like chasing the wind (6:9).

I must confess I have spent the last two and a half years half happy, half mourning what I do not have. I loved our life in Texas but missed family & friends in Illinois and dreaded the coming loss of my job. A year ago we moved back to Illinois and I have spent the last year enjoying life but in the context of missing our Texas church family & friends (and the backyard pool ). I have also mourned the loss of the role I have loved for 21 years – being a “pastor’s wife”. I have been surrounded by gifts from God yet had my “Eeyore” moments of feeling sorry for myself and grieving what I do NOT have.

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.

Lord, I thank you for the food I eat and for the people you have placed in my life. I thank you for the joy I find in working hard for you. Lord, when I start to have an “Eeyore” moment, help me recognize it and find my inner “Tigger” Lord, forgive me for the moments over the last few years when I have felt sorry for myself, when contentment is just out of reach.

Father God, we thank you for the many gifts you give us so generously. Forgive us for the moments when our focus is on what we don’t have or our minds wander to what we wish our life could be. Thank you for the opportunity to learn this morning from King Solomon, in all of his wisdom. Help us to relax in your plan for our life. Plant eternity in our hearts and give us eyes to see the grand scope of Your plan. Amen.