“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat
and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from
the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
(Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Tommy Neslon, a pastor at Denton Bible Church, has a great
series on the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a book of the Old
Testament, written by Solomon, one of Israel’s greatest kings. He was renowned
for his great wisdom, even though he didn’t often make wise decisions. Nelson
talks about how Ecclesiastes discusses the vanity of all what modern day
philosophies call “life”, i.e. money, power, possessions, sex, and pleasure.
The book talks about how life is hard and how a man will not necessarily escape
the difficulties of life, but should instead fear God and enjoy the gifts God
provides, (food, family, and work when possible). With that in mind, I here
recognize the goodness of God in my life by thanking him for the following:
- I am thankful for the smiles of my children and the
privilege of seeing them enjoy life and experience small but wonderful things
like ice cream, a swimming pool, the beach, and chicken nuggets. I thank God
for their laughter, their enjoyment of their evening bath, the love of going
outside to play, and their delight in playing with friends.
- I thank God for how my son loves to mow the grass with me.
I love seeing my son’s mannishness, how he loves being messy, loves trucks,
planes, loud things, and destruction. I thank God for the glory of the sexes,
how boys and girls are uniquely and gloriously different. I thank God for the
emotional turbulence of my daughter, how in it I see a unique tenderness and
femininity that makes her at once infuriating and delightful.
- I thank God for ocean breezes, for good food, for a quiet
house after the children have gone to bed, (finally).
- I thank God for a good cup of hot tea in the morning, a
quiet ride to work when I can pray.
- I thank God for a good movie that makes me laugh, draws me
in, has great acting and a wonderful storyline.
- I thank God and see the glory of heaven in good music. I
love the diversity and depth in the various instruments God has created. I
appreciate the skill and mastery of those instruments in worship music and in
the classical works of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. I love how music can be
strong and tremendous, like Beethoven’s 5th and tender and mournful,
like Beethoven’s Pathetique or Brahms’s Requiem.
- I thank God for a soft couch, a porch swing on a cool day,
and any other form of comfortable seating.
- Thank you God for good friends, even those who have moved
away. Thank you for those who understand my unique and often weird personality
and humor.
- Thank you for my wife who loves me tenderly and shows me
grace, forgiveness, wisdom, and patience on a daily, (minute by minute), basis.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful friend, a close to perfect mother, and
incredible spouse.
- Thank you for sports, for beautiful basketball games,
powerful football games, and the skill seen in so many other venues like golf,
baseball, and yea even soccer.
- Thank you for a comfy and worn in hat. Thank you God for
worn in jeans that fit perfectly.
- Thank you for good books. The Lord of the Rings, the Gates
of Fire, and Jack Reacher novels come to mind.
- Thank you that my parents and parents-in law are still
alive and I can watch them delight in my children. Thank you I can still
partake of their wisdom and life experiences. Thank you for the big boat they
will give me in their wills, (I’m joking).
- Thank you for Jesus, “who ever lives and pleads for me”.
Life is hard. The world is broken because of sin. People get
sick and die. Relationships fall apart. Work is difficult and infuriating.
Bills pile up. Yet in it all God is still glorious and has given us much to
enjoy. Thank you Lord.
P.S. Nelson’s excellent sermons can be found at dentonbible.org.
The Bible quotes were copied from Biblegateway.com.
I couldn't resist the following picture:
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