Joy in knowing God
So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless... God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23, 26
“He who has the most toys in the end wins.” “Money can’t buy happiness but I’d much rather cry in a mansion.” “What’s mine is mine; what’s yours is mine.” These are quotes from people whose pursuit in life is to become rich. They believe that accumulating things in this world will make a person happy. So they spend all their lives and energies working on achieving this goal to find happiness then to only discover like what King Solomon discovered that such pursuit leads to emptiness. “I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces...So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:7-11). “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Then he realized that it was not about things in this world that will make a person happy. True happiness is found only in the Lord. “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him” (Ecclesiastes 2:26). Joy is a state of mind based on the choice you make. It is the result of knowing that you are living your life to please the God. It is not based on circumstances. In God, even when circumstances are not working the way you desire them to happen, you still can choose to have joy. Ultimately, the pursuit of happiness based on accumulation of things or good circumstances will just leave you lacking. It is by having relationship with God through Jesus Christ that will make a person experience joy. It is only by experiencing His presence that will bring true joy and fulfillment.
Blessings.
