Our Daily Bread Today 26 January 2022 | ODB Devotional Message By Sheridan Voysey (Our Daily Bread Ministries)
Our Daily Bread ODB 26 January 2022 Devotional Message
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TOPIC: True Happiness
SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 3:9–14
KEY VERSE: I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. – Ecclesiastes 3:12
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Exodus 14–15; Matthew 17
TODAY’S INSIGHT: Ecclesiastes 3 emphasizes humanity’s inability to discern the ways in which God’s plan and purposes are at work, suggesting that this is often experienced by people as a “burden” (v. 10). For although God has “set eternity in the human heart . . . no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (v. 11). The word translated “eternity” (Hebrew ‘olam) can be translated in a variety of ways.
Here, some scholars argue it means “the age to come,” some say it refers primarily to the future, and others believe it refers to how all of time is connected. Whatever the meaning, the teacher in Ecclesiastes suggests that trying too hard to understand life’s whys or the ways in which God’s purposes will be realized will make it impossible to find satisfaction in the ups and downs of daily life (v. 12).
Our Daily Bread Today 26 January 2022 | ODB Devotional MESSAGE
In the tenth century, Abd al-Rahman III was the ruler of Cordoba, Spain. After fifty years of successful reign (“beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies”), al-Rahman took a deeper look at his life. “Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call,” he said of his privileges. But when he counted how many days of genuine happiness he’d had during that time, they amounted to just fourteen. How sobering.
The writer of Ecclesiastes was also a man of riches and honor (Ecclesiastes 2:7–9), power and pleasure (1:12; 2:1–3). And his own life evaluation was equally sobering. Riches, he realized, just led to a desire for more (5:10–11), while pleasures accomplished little (2:1–2), and success could be due to chance as much as ability (9:11). But his assessment didn’t end as bleakly as al-Rahman’s. Believing God was his ultimate source of happiness, he saw that eating, working, and doing good could all be enjoyed when done with Him (2:25; 3:12–13).
“O man!” al-Rahman concluded his reflections, “place not thy confidence in this present world!” The writer of Ecclesiastes would agree. Since we’ve been made for eternity (3:11), earthly pleasures and achievements won’t satisfy by themselves. But with Him in our lives, genuine happiness is possible in our eating, working, and living.
Our Daily Bread ODB 26 January 2022 REFLECT & PRAY
What do you turn to most to find happiness? How can you eat, work, and do good with God today?
Heavenly Father, today I will do all things with You by my side.
Our Daily Bread Today 26 January 2022 | ODB Devotional Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread
