Ecclesiastes 2:26 - which way do I go, which way do I go!

"To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God."

Well now, the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous.  Have you ever heard that statement and wondered where it came from?   There ya go.  Solomon wrote it.  And one of the best examples in Scripture to find this is in Exodus 12:35-36.  But there are certainly many other examples as well. 

Solomon's wisdom led him to pronounce that the pursuit of health, wealth, and happiness, a.k.a. the American dream, is useless, of no value, if God is not primary.  It is a chasing after the wind.  It will get you nowhere, for in the end, everything you fought to get and achieve will just be passed on to someone else who just might fritter it all away.  Therefore, what good was it?

In all things in the Christian life, God MUST be number one.  He is NOT the co-pilot, He is the PILOT.  He calls the shots, gives the orders, directs the operations, makes the way.  Only God knows what is truly the best for our lives and only He knows how He wants to go about giving it to us.  Our only job is to trust Him implicitly.  Unquestioningly.   Completely.  Unreservedly.   And yet we hold back, like a stubborn child who obstinately declares "Mother, I can do it myself!"  How much easier it would be on everyone's nerves if the child would simply accept the help, but stubbornness is not of God and it manifests itself from day one in our lives and continues throughout our lives.  That's one sin we all need to lay on the altar.  

God is not against us having "health, wealth, and happiness", but He wants to go about it in His way, not ours.  Before He doles it out He wants to know that we will be able to handle and administer it wisely, to HIS glory, not ours.  We all need to put our lives under the microscope and see what it is we are in dire need of.  And I think I can safely say, it is nothing.  We have food, clothing, and shelter.  We could all live within our means if we set our minds to it, but the problem is, we WANT.  God said he would meet all our needs, not our greeds.   Our personal debt is so staggering because we don't consult the Lord before we spend.  If we sought God's ways with as much diligence as we seek high-paying jobs and the luxuries of life, what do you think our lives would be like?  One thing's for sure, there would be a whole lot less stress, family arguments, divorces and heart attacks.   I would think that one of the greatest obstacles to marital happiness, if not number one, is financial difficulties.

We were created to please God first.  To fellowship with Him first.  To seek His advice first.  To love and obey Him first.  To be a sweet, sweet offering to Him.  All through the first five books of the Old Testament, you will read "an aroma pleasing to the Lord".    2 Corinthians 2:15 says that ". . . we are to God the aroma of Christ . . . "   Our unconditional love and obedience creates this aroma, it's the only thing that will.

We must all make a choice between God and the world.  Oh, which way do I go, which way do I go?  Joshua 24:15  "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Our Lord Jesus wants only the very best for us, but we must allow Him to tell us how to go about receiving it.  Are you ready to put your entire life, spirit, soul and body, in the hands of the Living God?

"Almighty God, help me, save me from myself.  Let my life be dedicated to You and only You.  Direct my paths, use me to Your glory, do not allow anything to come between me and You.  I trust you to take care of all my needs, never fearing for Your Divine provision.   Move in me, O God, to be like the apostle Paul, content in every situation of my life, satisfied with all that You have provided.  My trust is in You, Lord.  Strengthen me in my trust.  Amen."

FOR FURTHER STUDY:

Deuteronomy 28
Galatians 6:8
Philippians 4:10-12

Psalm 69:30-32
Proverbs 15:8
Daniel 4:27
John 5:30
Romans 8:8
2 Corinthians 5:9