The season after the birth of our third little girl was dark for me. Even though she was a miracle of God’s goodness after a very scary pregnancy, I still struggled to find any joy in my beautiful life. During that time, I remember reading somewhere that thanksgiving led to joy. This seemed rational, so I tried to focus my mind on the good things. I made note of each blessing that I shouldn’t take for granted. I told myself… We have a lovely little family, food to eat, clothes to wear, a nice little home…a good life. I should be thankful. I should be joyful.
A few years back, I remember gratitude journals becoming popular. In both faith and secular spheres, we were encouraged to make our daily lists of the things we should be thankful for… the blessings in our lives. While the correlation between gratitude and joy is accurate, I believe it’s incomplete.
Over the past couple months my husband and I have been sorting through and trying to grasp the truths found in the book of Ecclesiastes. The author of this weighty book of scripture, is quick to acknowledge the fleeting nature of life, the futility of our efforts, the injustice of this world, the reality of death, and the existence of Eloheem as Creator and Judge. Yet in contrast, the author also uses words related to joy at least seventeen times in the book! So how do we make the jump? How do we get to the place of joy when this hard life leaves us feeling anything but thankful?
My head began to make the jump as I read these verses from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes: “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts” (v.12,13).
This life is a GIFT! All the good that can be enjoyed, all the daily pleasures, are a gift. But the depth of this can only be understood in the character of the One giving the gift. This is the same God that gave us the gift of salvation through His Son…a good and extravagantly generous God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephes. 2:8). The same God who graciously gave His life for us so that we could have eternal life, offers us the beautiful gift of life here on earth. True gratitude comes from understanding that we’ve been given a gift we don’t deserve, from a God who delights to give good gifts.
Chapter 1 in the book of James suggests that the author was familiar with the truths in Ecclesiastes. He says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (v. 17). And Romans 8:31-32 also expresses the generous nature of our God. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
To me this is literally life changing. I don’t think we understand how truly good and kind our God is! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our eyes can be opened to the daily gifts of each day. It’s not enough to merely acknowledge the good things in life. This is as empty as a child being told to say thank you when he has no genuine appreciation for something. Rather our gratitude is a heart response to a surprisingly wonderful gift. Rightly, we joyfully acknowledge the gift of our salvation. But how often do we turn up our nose at or even scoff at His daily gifts found within this life? We deceive ourselves believing the joy is found in the accomplishment, in the result, in the success. But the joy is in the gift! Something, just like our salvation, that we don’t deserve and we can’t earn or accomplish by our efforts!
Life is fleeting, like Ecclesiastes says. But it’s not meaningless. Mysteriously wrapped in the moments of our days are beautiful God-crafted gifts that He longs for us to see and enjoy. This doesn’t mean that life suddenly becomes perfect or easy. The dark days still come and trials are alway right around the corner for the believer. But the ability to see the gifts scattered within it all enables us to turn our minds back to our God, back to the one who loved us enough to generously give His life for us. And then as joy pushes up through pain, we can truly say that “the joy of the Lord is my strength.”
Sunlight streaming through a window. The satisfaction of a completed task. The smell of clean laundry. A hot shower. The affection of a spouse. Laughter and good food. The messes of children. The turn of a season. The company of a pet. The quiet of night. Talking around a table with friends. They are all meant to be enjoyed. They are all meant to be received humbly and joyfully from the hand of our Creator . And when we do, He receives the glory due His name… His good, kind, generous name.
Blessings,
