Blessed Routine

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading, titled Blessed Routine, was written by Leslie Coe. Watching the morning crowd pour onto the train, I felt the Monday blues kick in. From the sleepy, grumpy faces of those in the jam-packed cabin, I could tell no one looked forward to going to work.

Frowns broke out as some jostled for space and more tried to squeeze in. Here we go again, another mundane day at the office. Then, it struck me that just a year before, the trains would have been empty because COVID-19 lockdowns had thrown our daily routines into disarray.

We couldn't even go out for a meal and some actually missed going to the office. But now we were almost back to normal and many were going back to work as usual. Routine, I realized, was good news and boring was a blessing. King Solomon came to a similar conclusion after reflecting on the seeming pointlessness of daily toil.

At times, it appeared endless, meaningless, and unrewarding. But then he realized that simply being able to eat, drink, and work each day was a blessing from God. When we're deprived of routine, we can see that these simple actions are a luxury. Let's thank God that we can eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our toil. For this is His gift.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 17 through 26. 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 has 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? To the person 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. This, too, is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Let's pray. Dear God, routine can sometimes seem so boring, but when those routines are disrupted for a time, we see them with new eyes and we are once again thankful. No matter how boring our routine may seem, help us to see the blessing in them and to be grateful to You. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Tabor and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.