My Pleasures

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;

    I refused my heart no pleasure.

My heart took delight in all my labor,

    and this was the reward for all my toil.

 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done

    and what I had toiled to achieve,

everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;

    nothing was gained under the sun. 

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NIV

I'm always looking forward to summertime. The warm days, football games, beaches, and cookouts are pleasures that I enjoy after a long, cold winter. Pleasure seeking shouldn't be just seasonal. I believe we all enjoy good food, engaging conversation, and hanging out with our friends and family on a cool summer evening. There's nothing wrong with our desires for pleasure. The Lord has made us for it. Paul tells us that God "gives us richly all things to enjoy"(1Timothy 6:17 KJV). We are welcome through other scriptures to the healthy pleasures of food, friends, and the intimacy of a marriage relationship. But when we think that we can find ultimate pleasure in people and things, then we will find, that's an empty pursuit. Ultimate pleasures will not be found in the short- lived thrills that this world offer, but you will find Joy from a deepening intimacy with our Lord. So what we are looking for can only be satisfied and fulfilled by having a relationship with Jesus. I encourage you to pursue Him and taste His delights!  

Today's devotional by Brother Samuel Lantion.