Stacy is an excellent wife and mother. Her days are filled with the motherly tasks of unending laundry, making sure the kids are clothed, fed and doing well in school, getting them to appointments, etc. She supports me in my career and ministry, picking up the slack when my schedule keeps me away. She is patient, kind, loving, and joyful. These things and many more illustrate how blessed I am to have her as my wife. However, she is a horrible god.

This seems like an obvious statement, until we examine our hearts. God has given us many good things in this world, but we tend to desire them in the wrong way. We seek ultimate fulfillment in our careers, money, loved ones, or other accomplishments. Whether we know it or not, we turn them into small gods who will always leave us wanting and lacking joy.

On the other hand, consider Solomon’s key observation about enjoying life.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:18–20)

I love the simplicity of these verses. You don’t need a theology degree to understand Solomon’s key to a joyful life. Simply enjoy the gifts God has given you in the ways God intended. When food, work, possessions, and ambition are not the ultimate pursuit of our hearts, we find contentment and joy.

There is something about verse 20 that gives me a calming vision for my life. We easily get caught up in the hard tasks, focused on toil and setbacks. They certainly aren’t fun. But when God is our focus, he directs our hearts to be occupied with joy. Not joy that comes from things of this world, but the joy David mentions in Psalm 16:11: You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I pray Stacy and I get to grow old together. With the grandkids running around and a God-honoring life behind, I hope we can say, “God keeps us occupied with joy in our hearts.”

By Philip Jones

Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.