Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Commentary:
In all that God does, there is a purpose. To believe this is a basic component of enduring faith. Our own desire for significance and purpose is also good. We should take comfort in the fact that God desires each man to receive enjoyment from the fruits of his labor. Our problems begin when man attempts to make a comparison of God’s timing against our own timing. Mankind operates within the boundaries and constraints of time. God, on the other hand, sets His boundaries around the concepts of His own results. Man cannot find rest until he finds rest in God. This is set in each man’s heart. Human frustration comes from man’s knowledge of eternity and man’s inability to understand it. The purpose of work, therefore, is to build our faith and trust in God.