Thankful for Monday

Hi, and thanks for joining us for another encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional.

Our reading, titled Thankful for Monday, was written by Po Feng Chie. I used to dread Mondays. Sometimes, when I got off the train to head to a previous job, I'd sit at the station for a while, trying to delay reaching the building, if only for a few minutes. My heart would beat fast as I worried over meeting the deadlines and managing the moods of a temperamental boss. For some of us, it can be especially difficult to start another dreary work week. We may be feeling overwhelmed or unappreciated in our job. In Ecclesiastes 2, King Solomon described the toil of work when he wrote, What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?

All their days, their work is grief and pain. While the wise king didn't give us a cure-all for making work less stressful or more rewarding, he did offer us a change in perspective. No matter how difficult our work is, he encourages us to find satisfaction in it, with God's help. Perhaps it will come as the Holy Spirit enables us to display Christ-like character, or as we hear from someone who's been blessed through our service, or as we remember the wisdom God provided to deal with a difficult situation. Though our work may be difficult, our faithful God is there with us. His presence and power can light up even gloomy days.

With his help, we can be thankful for Monday. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ecclesiastes 2, verses 17-25. So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish, yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil, into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun.

This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who is not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days, their work is grief and pain.

Even at night, their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.

For without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? Let's pray. Faithful God, help us to see the good You're enabling us to accomplish through our work today. May we work with a special awareness of our purpose, even when our work situation is challenging. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Toni Collier and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.