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Gladness of Heart (Ecclesiastes 5:19-20)

Scripture of the Day: Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

In the past couple of weeks, I have truly come to appreciate exactly how much of a gift from God it is when we are happy in our work. My full time job is that of being a full time mom. My little man and I have had some trying times of late and I was actually considering trying to go back to work (mind you, not because God was telling me to, but because I was very frustrated). I got to a point two weeks ago where I told God that if he wanted me to be a stay at home mom, he needed to change my heart to be content there. And what do you know? Poof - it happened!

 I don't know how it works for you, but when God changes things in my life, it isn't a change that happens little by little. It just changes. Bam. It's over. One day I went to bed unhappy with my lot in life, and the next I woke up and knew in my heart I was doing what I was supposed to be. This has blessed with me more patience and more kindness on a daily basis, and indeed, gladness of heart! 

 This "transformation" if you will, only came about because I asked for it. Reader, if you are not content in your job, please pray about it! Ask God to either guide you to a new position, or change your heart so that you can live like the verse above and not reflect on the bad days at work. As James 4:2 tells us, "You do not have because you do not ask." (I encourage you to read the whole chapter for more context.) God wants us to communicate with Him, so do it! You may be amazed at what happens in your life when you do!

 Closing Prayer:

 Heavenly Father God, thank you for blessing me with true gladness of heart. I no longer reflect on each day in negative terms, but rather have accepted my lot and am happy in my work. That is a wonderful gift and I am truly thankful for it. Thank you for changing my heart - it is not something I cam capable of doing without you! Please help us remember to ask You to help us in ways like that when we seem "stuck" in a situation. Our hearts cannot change on our own and in order to have that "gladness of heart," we need to look to You.  I love you and in your son's name I pray. Amen.

Comments

  1. Nicole CarrilloOctober 10, 2013 at 6:42 AM

    Thank you for this encouragement! I stumbled upon your blog by typing in Ecclesiastes 5:20, which was shared in a sermon I listened to yesterday. I am also a stay at home mama, working part time from home and going into the office twice a week. I've recently been experiencing days of loneliness (my husband left on a week-long business trip) and have only gotten through each day because of the presence of Christ and the reminder that He has not and will not leave me for even a second. I've also found a lot of comfort and encouragement in the sermons and blogs He has guided me to!

    So thank you for speaking His word and sharing it with such a big audience. Your baby boy is adorable, enjoy your daily adventures! (mind you, I know this post is over a year old - I'll have to check out 2013 and see how you're all doing!)

    God bless your family, and always remind you that He is with you through all walks of life!

    By the way, the moving message I listened to was Chip Ingram's "Coffee Break" of August 2013. You can listen to it, here: http://livingontheedge.org/coffeebreak/august-2013 click where it says "Listen to a Bonus Message"

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