God Speaking

“And I saw all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbour. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

(Ecclesiastes 4: 4)

We have been doing a fascinating study in our church on the book of Samuel and with the focus on the life of David. David began as a humble shepherd boy until his famous feat of killing the giant Goliath and eventually becoming the King of Israel. Last Sunday we observed David drifting away from the God he worshipped and committing the sin of adultery and ordering the murder of Uriah. Our pastor pointed out how power can corrupt. David had wealth and power, everything he needed, but still allowed envy for another man’s wife to lead him into sin. Our pastor had this quote about power, power is like drinking saltwater, the more you have the thirstier you become for more, your thirst is never satisfied.

Solomon, who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, was another example of someone who had wealth and power, but he concluded, that most of what we desired as humans became a mere “chasing after the wind”.

So, what does give us satisfaction and give us contentment with our lot in life?

The world constantly tells us of exactly what will make us happy and satisfied with life, ideas ranging from beautiful clothes, luxury homes, to fast sport cars. It also in a subtle way promotes, that to get to the top of one’s profession will bring praise and honour, so strive to out do all other contenders for that special position.

Recently one of the questions in our Bible Study was a simple, but also a complex one.

What brings you satisfaction in your life?

We are an older group, so have lived through ups and downs in all their forms. Many answers included a loving family, a safe place to live, loving friends, but the question begs for deeper reasons for contentment and satisfaction.  We have been studying Philippians and finally agreed, that Paul summed up his experiences with a wonderful example of what true satisfaction is and one worth following;

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or living in want.” (Philippians 4: 12)

Then we had to look carefully again at his letter to learn Paul’s secret. His secret is a powerful one. It is having the peace of God surrounding us whatever is going on in our lives. This peace is so amazing we as humans are unable to understand it. It is divine.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 7)

What a wonderful message for all of us. Whatever is going on in our lives we can call on the Lord Jesus Christ and ask for his peace, and contentment will follow. No longer chasing after the wind, we have a solid rock to hang on to.