Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
Seize life! Eat bread the with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes – God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it,
For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think
In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.
One of my favorite verses in passage, besides "dress festively every morning" and "don’t skimp on colors and scarves" is when the writer says, "Oh yes! God takes pleasure in your pleasure!"
Honestly, I didn’t know this before I read it. (Goodness, I love the Message. It makes everything so clear.) I knew God wants me to be happy, but I didn’t know that he actually enjoys to be happy with me. I think that’s amazing!
Let's pray.
Dear God,
Today I learned not only that you WANT me to be happy, but that you're happy when I'm happy! I've never thought of you in this way before. I've always thought you were a powerful, strong God who loved me but...I'm learning you're so different from how culture views you. I want to spend time with you. I want to be happy, and I want you to be happy with me. I want us to have good times together. It'll be awkward at first, probably, like meeting a new friend, but I know that, if we keep spending time together, we'll be BEST friends.
Thanks, God, for all that you do.
Your child,
___________________
JOURNAL JOTS:
What is holding you back from enjoying life fully?
What things are you not enjoying simply because you don’t think of them?
What pleasures do you think that you and God enjoy together?
Think of things you, your friends, and God can enjoy toegther.
I really need to be reminded of this message often. Thanks a lot for blogging it! :) I guess that in this message GOD also tells me to be happy more so that He can be too jk jk :P Btw, have I said that I like the things that you post on here? Well I do. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tunafish. I know -- I forget this so many times! God is often portrayed as a powerful, stern, mean person. I am to do His will but not have fun because fun is sinful.
ReplyDeleteIt's so not true! It's a HUGE reason that there aren't more Christians today!
Haha, sorry, I forgot to elaborate. :) I meant that GOD can have so much fun even without be. But I'm glad that He rejoices in me and the life that He has given me. As well as the people who live for Him and write helpful things on Blogger. :D
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