Ecclesiastes 5:18-20/ Let Joy Occupy Your Heart
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20/ Let Joy Occupy Your Heart
18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
It is easy to know what occupies your home. Or your bank account. Or your calendar. You can just have a look and see what is there. But what occupies your heart? That takes some thought.
The Hebrew word for "occupied" here is pretty much exactly what comes to mind when we hear that word today. It means, "to cause to be busy or fully engaged and active." So, God keeps us busy or fully engaged and active with joy in our hearts. In other words, there is a state of being where the joy of being with Jesus for eternity fills our hearts, keeping it busy and engaged at all times.
Now, here's why this matters--look at the outflow of a heart occupied with God's joy: Solomon said: "Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God."
Why would we need power to enjoy wealth and possessions?
Aren't those things enjoyable already?
Everyone enjoys having a car and money for food and the freedom to do the things we are passionate about, right?
The power here has to do with contentment. Without God's joy in our hearts we will look to worldly things for contentment, but never be satisfied. But, a heart occupied with God's joy is empowered to be content; empowered to accept our lot, rejoice in our toil, and enjoy the good gifts of God! That is the outflow of a heart occupied with God's joy: power to be content.
We need God's help with this. Solomon said, "God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." This is a supernatural work of God. His grace in our lives helps us set our hearts on the joy of eternity with Jesus. And with joy occupying our hearts we have power to enjoy the gifts, accept our lot, and rejoice in our toil. Let's ask God to flood our hearts with joy so that we are empowered with contentment:
Father, thank you for the good gifts in life and for the power to rightly enjoy them. We treasure you most. We are prone to experiencing discontentment, to rejecting our lot in life, and to becoming bitter in the toil—we are sorry for that. Thank you for your mercy. Keep our hearts occupied with joy, Father. Empower us to be content. Help us be busy with joy. Help us be active with joy. Help us engage with joy today. We trust you to keep us occupied with joy! Amen.
If you want to dig deeper into this, need help, need prayer, or have questions—please reach out to us here: Roots Help & Prayer Form
With love,
Pastor Kevin