Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. Ecclesiastes 2:24 (NKJV)
I love what today’s verse says. God wants you to enjoy your life and your career! He didn’t create this world for us to go through life feeling defeated and barely able to get by.
There is a prevailing belief in legalistic religion that suffering is part of God’s will for our lives. When you’re going through pain, some will say God is trying to teach you something. But His Word says He loves you and is for your good!
A pastor once asked me why I don’t preach on suffering more. I told him I do—I teach people how to handle hard times. But think about a professional football player. His career is full of pain and suffering. Every time he plays, he breaks fingers, cracks ribs or bruises muscles. Yet you don’t hear him talking much about his injuries. He’s in it for the joy of the touchdown, and he can’t wait to get back out there and play the game again.
That’s how I view life. Is there suffering and hurting? Yes, there is. We live in a world where there will be storms. Even though suffering is part of life, it’s not part of God’s will.
The more you renew your mind to the fact that God wants you to increase, the more you will reach for it with faith. It’s crucial that we believe God wants us to move up and succeed. Even when storms come, we are planted on the foundation of Jesus Christ. He has a life for us to enjoy as we reach this world for Him!