Gift of God

 

 

          Ecclesiastes 5:19,20: 19) “Moreover when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil- this is a gift of God. 20)  They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.”

          When we read the first part of verse 19, “Moreover when God gives someone wealth and possessions,” do we think of material things? Things acquired by the work of our hands? In context of this verse that is what we may think, but let’s take a moment and think about the words “wealth and possessions” in the spiritual sense. The “wealth” is truly knowing Jesus Christ and the “possessions” is His word in our hearts, filling us with the Holy Spirit.

          1 Chornicles29:12: “Wealth and honor come from you, you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exult and give strength to us.” The wealth is what we receive as we continually give more and more of our heart to Jesus, and His leading, the more honor He will give us through the possession of the Holy Spirit that is in our hearts. The burden of gathering monetary wealth or righting a wrong done to us or looking for what is coming to me, will be lifted. Jesus will take away those feelings. By concentrating on His word and the life He wants us to live, God directs our lives and His hands have the strength to break the chains that bind us, and our hearts, to sin and our sinful ways. So as we are obedient to not only study His word but live our lives as His word leads us, His power exults us and gives us the strength to overcome life’s difficulties. His power exults us because we exult Him and lift up His name for others to see through our words and actions.

          In 2 Chronicles 1:12 God says this to Solomon, “Therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” By truly honoring Christ I believe our Heavenly Father could be saying the same to us. We daily gain wisdom and a deeper knowledge of Him, if we go and seek Jesus through the reading of His word and the opening of our hearts in prayer. Wisdom and knowledge are obtained first before blessings are bestowed. Our Father will freely give, but only if we freely give to Him what is due Him, our hearts, minds and souls. And what little we have to give to Him, compared to what He has already, may seem of no importance to us, to God it is tremendous. It shows Him what truly lies on our hearts, and yes, God already knows but He wants to see if we will try to fool Him or honestly come to Him with open hearts. And this through His mercy and grace. At times we are emotionally overcome by the gifts He gives to us, just as we are by the love He has for us. Even though we are not kings, it does not matter to Christ. Our obedience and desire to follow Him is what He asks of us. By setting our hearts on His precepts, and on His ways, He showers us with blessings so we have the “ability to enjoy them.”

          Ecclesiastes 2:24: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

          Ecclesiastes 3:13: “That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil- this is a gift of God.” As each believer begins to honestly “toil” in their understanding of Jesus Christ. And to earnestly follow His ways. The Holy Spirit enters into our hearts and we are spiritually filled with satisfaction. As we draw near to our Heavenly Father we please Him. Through our drawing near, by our continued study of His word, we gain knowledge and understanding. He (God) gives us wisdom, knowledge and happiness. We “eat and drink” in the wisdom of God through the bible. Our “toil” is in the bible studies we attend, the Christian music we listen to and the prayers we pray for others. By “gathering” in His word, we begin to leave the selfishness of our lives behind. Self becomes smaller. Others become bigger. Our “toil” is to show others Christ’s love that He has for all of us, no matter their social status.

          Deuteronomy 12:7: “There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” As we continue to guide others to an understanding of who Christ is, our “hands” are doing His work here on earth. His wisdom and strength is what He gives to us in order that we can “toil.” The knowledge and understanding we gather through His word, and prayer with Him, assists us in our work for Him. Those words strengthen our heart so that we can accomplish our tasks. The gift then is the satisfaction we attain by leading others to Christ so that they too can experience the joy and peace we have by our obedience to Christ Jesus.

                   As we continue to glean a better understanding of how Jesus wants us to live, we better understand how to travel along the road he has set before us. We can then begin to leave the distractions of this world behind. Our focus will begin to be more Christ, on His leading and directions for us. As we give up more of our heart to Him, the less there is for us to concern ourselves with self-interest. John 3:30: “He must become greater; I must become less.” As we give up more and more of “us” and begin to give Christ more and more, our hearts will feel the peace from Christ, the “gift of God.”