{"id":788502,"date":"2013-09-03T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/?p=788502"},"modified":"2013-09-03T17:29:36","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T17:29:36","slug":"enjoy-the-fruits-of-your-laborfor-these-are-gifts-from-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/2013\/09\/03\/enjoy-the-fruits-of-your-laborfor-these-are-gifts-from-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor\u2026for these are gifts from God."},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a popular song from the late 60\u2019s that is based on Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8.\u00a0 It was performed by The Byrds, titled, \u2018Turn! Turn! Turn!\u201d,\u00a0 \u00a0lasting 11 weeks on Billboard\u2019s Top 40.\u00a0 You can hear it here: Turn!Turn!Turn!<\/a><\/p>\n

During a time that is remembered for free exploration of pretty much anything, it is touching to note that a song, containing (almost verbatim) scripture, by a secular band<\/i>, was as popular as it was.\u00a0 Hope can always be found in scripture, and I think that is why this song was so attractive during this unsettling, and transitional, era.<\/p>\n

The book of Ecclesiastes was written (they think), by King Solomon.\u00a0 He wrote it as an older man, looking back on his life, sharing what he learned.\u00a0 His intent was to share that life was meaningless without God, (much of his life was apart from God.)<\/p>\n

Today, I read Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, and thought about the seasons of our life.\u00a0 How there really is a time for everything, the good and the bad.<\/p>\n

In verses 9-13, there is an, interesting at first, what appears to be, dichotomy of dissatisfaction and satisfaction.\u00a0 Verses 9-11 says, \u201cWhat do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet <\/b>no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has set eternity in the human heart.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 In doing this, we discover that there is a restlessness, a yearning, that makes us long for SOMETHING.<\/i>\u00a0 We begin to amass items, and experiences, relationships, and knowledge.\u00a0 All to satisfy.\u00a0 Yet, because God set eternity in our hearts, at some point, we come to realize that nothing on this earth can fully quench this yearning.\u00a0 Our hearts remain restless and searching, until we find our home in the One who made us.<\/p>\n

But, the author goes on to say in verses 12-13, \u201cI know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil\u2014this is the gift of God.\u201d\u00a0 The author encourages us to recognize that we have the gift of eternity in our hearts.\u00a0 He continues to say that we also have the gift of enjoying the fruits of our labor.\u00a0 To receive these with a grateful heart, and recognize them for the gifts they are.\u00a0 God wants us to enjoy life!\u00a0 When we focus on God, we focus on His blessings, not our material accumulations.<\/p>\n

I am writing this on Labor Day, a holiday we celebrate to honor all who labor\/work.\u00a0 As I write this, I give thanks to the God who provides for ALL my needs.\u00a0 To be able to rest and enjoy the fruits of my labor, is truly a gift!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Addendum:<\/strong> I love this when this happens- After posting this earlier this morning, I then read a devotional with the boys at Our Daily Bread<\/a>, and look at what was at the end of the devotional…<\/p>\n

There is a longing in every heart that only Jesus can satisfy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AMEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a popular song from the late 60\u2019s that is based on Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8.\u00a0 It was performed by The Byrds, titled, \u2018Turn! Turn! Turn!\u201d,\u00a0 \u00a0lasting 11 weeks on Billboard\u2019s Top 40.\u00a0 You can hear it here: Turn!Turn!Turn! During a time that is remembered for free exploration of pretty much anything, it is touching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-788502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-reflections"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788502"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":788504,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788502\/revisions\/788504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}