“Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.” (Ec 9:7 AV)
Ecclesiastics is an interesting book. Solomon writes a treatise on the meaning of life if God does not exist. Interspersed are spiritual truths. Solomon is giving us the permission to enjoy that which God has given. The pleasure of enjoying life is predication on being accepted by the LORD. If our lives do not please the LORD, we have work to do. We have consequences we must live with. If we strive to live for the LORD, even if we fail from time to time, there are blessings to be enjoyed. God does not want us to have miserable lives. He wants us to enjoy the best life possible. Sometimes that can be difficult.
This morning, I awoke at 3:30am and couldn’t fall back asleep. I meditated on my current situation of life. Melancholy was the temptation of the hour. It usually is, that time of day. My mind went to all the troubles that are part of growing older. Saying goodbye to the ones you love is hard to do. Losing what was once the definition of your life as duties, opportunities, and purpose change is a hard adjustment. I reflected on the change taking place, with personal needs competing with ministry. The trend is leaning away from ministry availability as the demands of my personal life increase. Change is hard. Then the Spirit led me to consider seasoned saints and how full of joy most seem to be. My mind went to the luncheons we shared. As their pastor, I took them out once a month to share a meal. They spoke of the good old days. Not with resentment. Rather, with fond memories. As I reflected on these things, I opened my phone and on my home screen, the above verse appeared. The Spirit seemed to tell me that it is ok to have joy in life even though life is changing. It is ok with the LORD. We can take time to enjoy our lives as God has blessed them. We do not have to feel as though life is miserable and we must suffer along with it. It is ok to be ok.
We may not have had perfect lives. There is much we wish we could take back. No one is perfect. There have been a lot of tears along the way. There is much sadness. But our lives don’t have to be a hallmark movie. It is ok to be ok. This is Solomon’s point here. Life is the same for all. No one is immune. There will come hardships. Loss is part of everyone’s life. Eternity is what makes it all better. There is a coming day when all that was unpleasant will be forgotten. There is coming a day without sadness. There is coming a day with no pain, no sorrow, no sickness, and no loss. There is coming a day when for all of eternity, our problems will be forgotten and no more. But we don’t have to wait for eternity. Some of that can be experienced today. It is ok to be ok. There is nothing sinful about enjoying the blessings of God in the here and now. It is ok to be ok.
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