One of God’s most overlooked gifts is the ability to enjoy our labour.
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 (New King James Version)
Enjoy labour? Yes.
God created us to be like Him, to be productive. He designed work to bless us and give us the opportunity to be productive. Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam worked. Sin created a rift not just in our relationship with God but also in our perception of His blessings.
Thank God, Jesus took care of that rift in His death and resurrection! Now we can see God’s good intention toward us and respond to it in faith.
When we cheerfully do what is right with our wealth, we honour God—and God, in turn, honours us according to His Word (1 Sam. 2:30). In Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells us that this kind of man receives joy from the Lord. He is not consumed by the difficult days of his life. He does not dwell on the trouble and toil of his work or on the evil in the world, because his heart is full of the joy of recognising God’s blessings.
A cheerful spirit is good medicine (Prov. 17:22); it makes the difficulty of everyday work easy and the burden of our afflictions light.
God never promised we wouldn’t have difficult days, but He did give us the power to overcome (John 16:33)!
His peace and joy make the effects of pain and discouragement in our lives negligible—even in our work.