Active Heart - True Life

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9:13-18
 
Ecclesiastes 1:18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
 
King Solomon has been a “heart-active” king. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:13 & 17 he wrote, “I devoted myself…so I set out to learn everything.”  God had given him the wisdom to be a good, wise king, so he could teach his people how to live well. But Solomon’s wisdom surprisingly filled his heart with irritation. That is because the things Solomon learned as king greatly disturbed him.
   Amid his wealth, wisdom and power, Solomon learned he had no control over the pain and brokenness affecting his peoples’ lives. Mankind’s habit is to live in many ways that hurt and limit us. Our habits often prevent us from our full potential. Regardless of the wisdom and knowledge God offers us, we have trouble believing he really has our best interests in mind. “Does God really mean what he says?” our hearts ask. We are prone to pursue our own pleasure believing God’s commands restrict us. That was Adam and Eve’s issue, and it remains our barrier today.
   Imagine God is looking over your life right now in the way Solomon reviewed Israel. The sovereign Lord knows every single thing about all of us. He has formed us in his image with the purpose to reflect his holiness. He gave us all the knowledge we need to live a life contented in his commands. God’s the Good King, who is “heart-active” to lovingly lead his Kingdom.
   What do you think? Is he grieved, or is he pleased with what he sees? 
 
Enjoy Your Work
 
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
 
“I just want to be happy.” It’s a common goal for us, isn’t it? The world says it, “God wants you to be happy.” Really?
    Yes, it is true. God does want you to be happy. But let’s first know what happiness is not: It is not the enjoyment of some possession, activity or accomplishment. These moments can cause some temporary happiness. But soon we are looking for something else to make us happy.
    Happiness is the enjoyment of God’s favor, an obedience to God’s commands. The happy person submits to God’s purpose for your life. In short, happiness is knowing God’s grace and power guides your life.
    This is Solomon’s point. One must look at his work to see it is God’s blessing to him. When he accepts his work as a benefit God has added to his life, he will be content. He knows the essential goodness of his life isn’t in what he owns, but he sees the value of his possessions as  evidence of God’s presence in his life.  
    In the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11, Jesus declares we are happy – blessed – when we live to be as Jesus lived on earth. Happiness is striving toward Jesus. Happiness is knowing the LORD is guiding us to his home.