“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” ( Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Does your life get in the way of living? Do you ever feel like closing the door and shutting out the world? Most people have had these feelings. I know I have, though not as often as before I retired. Jobs, children, husbands, dinner, laundry, the bills, etc. seem to demand our attention-all at once.
Solomon wrote about there being a time for everything, every activity under heaven. He also expressed his frustration with the meaninglessness of things in life- “a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.” He spoke of those who hoard wealth and never have enough or those who lose all they’ve worked for leaving nothing for their children.
You may be in a place where you’re feeling the exhaustion and futility of doing all you do. You may have lost the joy of living. Remember what Jesus did. “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Jesus must have been busy, too. The gospels indicate that He was busy teaching, healing, and answering questions, but he took time to pray. If Jesus needed to talk with His Father, how much more do we have that need?
Solomon concluded that what really mattered was to “fear God and keep his commandments.” Before you throw away your “to do” list, think about what Max Lucado said in his book, Cure for the Common Life. “Worship can happen everyday in every deed. We can make a big deal about God on Sundays with our songs and on Mondays with our strength. Each time we do our best to thank God for giving His, we worship. ‘Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering’” (Romans 12:1, MSG).
What would happen if we thought of our schedules as our service lists, our offerings and sacrifices given in worship to God? I remember the time in my life when I made this change in my thinking. It changed my harried attitude to a happy attitude. My focus changed from doing things to being God’s servant. The schedule and “to do” list didn’t change, but how I approached it changed.
In their song, Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory, Joe Beck and Carl Cartee remind us that all creation sings to the honor of God’s Name and our prayer should be, “Don’t let me miss the glory!”
God desires our worship through work and our lives lived to praise His Name. We can look forward to the day when our time on this earth is over and He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
“That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him” (Ecclesiastes 3:13-14).