The Word of God says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil  days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no  pleasure in them.”– Ecc. 12:1

The world says, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die”. People tell us that we should do all the things on our “bucket list” before we kick the bucket. In other words, get as much pleasure out of life as you can before you can’t. But the Bible doesn’t support that view. Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). It ought to be the same for all of us. No where do you find that we have been assigned the right to make the pursuit of pleasure the top priority in our life. We have better things to do!

The following article, I found saved in my drafts, puts this matter in the proper perspective: “It is inevitable, young person, that you will eventually come to a time—perhaps even years—when you are not even able to enjoy the pleasures of this life anymore. As  unthinkable as it may seem right now, you will not always be strong, free of pain, able to eat anything you want (that day is actually coming soon!), or even perhaps able to get out of bed. 

Why does Solomon remind us of this fact? Is he just trying to burst our bubble or make us depressed? No. He is writing this admonition so that  we will begin now to pour our hearts and lives into pleasures that even old age cannot take away.

Remember now your Creator! Don’t wait until every distraction  is taken away from you and God is the only person left to talk to. Serve Him now, even in the middle of a thousand immediate pleasures that may  be tempting you away from Him. Because even now He is greater than any of these pleasures.

The truth is that, in your Creator, there are “pleasures for evermore”  (Psalm 16:11). He is not reprimanding us for enjoying the earthly  pleasures of eating, music, painlessness, or sunsets — your Creator is  the one who made these things also. But He is warning us against seeking these niceties as an end in themselves, while we are still able to  enjoy them, and forgetting about the greater pleasures that never go  away or diminish. In the presence of God is fullness of joy. Don’t allow yourself to be satisfied with anything less than full joy.”

As a young preacher living in Springfield, Mo.I had the privilege of becoming acquainted with several older and famous preachers. And I was in awe of them. When they spoke of their “good old days” and related their experiences I was thrilled, but also frustrated in a sense. I realized that their experiences were beyond my reach. Then one day I realized that I had something they didn’t have, nor would ever have. I had youth, strength, and boundless energy. Now, in the sense of age, I am where they were and some of you have what I had. You are young, strong, and have a great opportunity–please don’t waste it! “Remember now thy Creator”. –HDS

“Let your conversation be without  covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he  hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. “–Hebrews 13:5
When it comes to contentment most of us fail more than we would like to admit. About the time we think we’ve got it something happens to remind us that we don’t. The following story is an example of what I’m talking about.

 A mother was watching her young son play at the beach one day. All of a sudden, a huge wave appeared and crashed down over the boy. The water  receded, and the boy was gone.

Holding her hands to the sky, she cried, “God how could you? I’m a  wonderful mother. And I’ve tried to live a good life. Why would you take my son away from me?”

 A few minutes later another huge wave appeared out of nowhere and  crashed on the beach. As the water receded, the boy stood there,  smiling, splashing around as if nothing had ever happened. A loud voice  boomed from the sky, “Okay, okay, I have returned your son. Are you  satisfied?”

 She responded, “No, I’m not. Where’s the hat he was wearing?”

 It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing God’s blessings and provision as less than enough. If we have food, a roof over our heads, and a bed  to sleep in, we’re richer than most of the people who’ve ever lived.

Don’t let greed gain a stronghold in your life. Be content with God’s  provision and trust Him to continue meeting your every need.

Pray that God would give you contentment with the blessings He’s provided for you.

As humorous as this story is, this is a very serious matter. A covetous spirit is an awful sin and terrible problem.-HDS

“Beloved, think it not strange  concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as  though some strange thing happened unto you: “– 1 Pet. 4:12
Peter tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised by our trials–but we usually are. Indeed we are often shocked that they would or should come upon us. We would not be surprised had they come upon others, but for some reason we think we should escape what they have to endure. But it doesn’t work that way. Trials come universally, un-expectantly, un-invited, and, to our mind of many, un-deserved. At a moment when least expected they kick down the door and interrupt our life. And we’re left wondering “Why?” “Why me?”, “Why this?”, “Why now?”.
It might be that we’ve read all the verses related to trials and are well versed on how God uses them for good, but at that moment nothing seems to make sense. Although troubles and trials are the norm for Christians we always think they are out of place–like God got the wrong address or doesn’t know what we really need. Well you can forget that! God knows exactly what we need and He sends it accordingly. And as unpleasant as it might be, we should not complain that His will is done.
Notice the next verse–“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of  Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be  revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding  joy. “.F. B. Meyer said, “Nothing is harder to bear than the apparent aimlessness of suffering”. That’s why Romans 8:28 is such a great encouragement. It assures us that God uses the bad for good. What we despise now might produce some of the greatest blessings in life at a later date. Sadly we are usually too blind to see that possibility. That’s why we must stand on God’s promises. They never fail.– HDS

“But I would ye should understand,  brethren, that the things which  happened unto me have fallen out  rather unto the furtherance of the  gospel; So that my  bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other  places;“–Phil. 1:12-13
I’ve never been in prison but I can well imagine how I might feel. I suspect that I might feel that my ministry was over, that my usefulness to God had come to an end, and that I had a right to complain. That’s why I marvel so at the story of Paul who suffered all kinds of hardships and was imprisoned at Rome, yet used of God in a mighty way. I’m not the only one impressed. J. R. Miller wrote, “A prison is not an ideal place for usefulness. Yet no years of the apostle’s life were ,ore fruitful of good than than when he was a prisoner. He wrote letters to the churches he could not visit, and to individuals he he wished to help, and the letters not only carried blessings to those to whom they were written, but they have been carrying blessings ever since to countless lives”.

I hope you let that sink in and feel the full impact. Your situation might be much different than Paul’s–you have a problem of a different sort, but you feel like a prisoner to your circumstances, limited and useless. You are so focused on the obstacles that you see no opportunities. However, although the manner of your usefulness is different that Paul’s there is something you can do. Whatever your circumstances are there is some way you can be used of God to be a blessing to others. In some cases it won’t even be through direct contact. It might simply be their knowledge of the good way you handled your bad situation. Testimonies can be powerful.

The fact is, if you live long enough the time will probably come when the manner in which you serve God will change. Physical limitations or other factors will prevent you from doing what you do now, but don’t give up. There is always something you can do..The fact that you are still alive is evidence that God wants to use you. You might think your best days are over, when they are actually yet to come. Don’t you dare give up before God is through with you!–HDS

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My  father: and  he  said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood:  but  where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a  lamb for a  burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”–Gen. 22:7-8

Nearly everyone has encountered a situation in life where they felt, “This is too hard. I can’t do this”. That’s why our text is so very important. At this very moment I have family and friends who are in great need, in various ways,and I suspect the same is true of you. I pray they will consider this and be encouraged by it.

Whether your problem is sin, shame, sickness, suffering, sorrow, shortage, etc. the nature of your problem doesn’t matter. God is able to meet them all. His power exceeds the greatness of any problem. Regardless of how you feel at this moment you can face your future without fear because God is faithful to do as He promised. That gives us hope when we are helpless. It keeps us going when the only option seems to be quitting. Knowing He can provide what we need produces a peace that passeth all understanding. You need to think about that everyday so as to build your faith (Rom. 10:17) to cope with the crisis that will surely come.—HDS