ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MAY 19, 2022  

TOPIC: ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE

BY T. O. BANSO

“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 6:9 New Living Translation).

Some people have a craving for things not because they need them but because they only want them. Sometimes they can’t even easily afford them but do everything to possess them. Many are in debt today because of this. Why are you using the money you don’t have to buy what you don’t need? New things will always be produced. Some will be repackaged. Whatever the case, you shouldn’t make yourself miserable because you’re struggling to acquire some things.

Be content. Learn to enjoy what you have. Learn to enjoy life with or without the things you have. Some people can’t enjoy what they have now because of what they lack! They’re anxious about what they lack; therefore, they can’t enjoy what they have! Learn to enjoy life at whatever level you are. Use the gifts or talents you have; don’t worry about what you don’t have. Enjoy the material things you have; don’t crave what you lack. Use everything to the glory of God.

Ecclesiastes 6:9 says, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind” (New Living Translation). The New King James Version says, “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.” The Good News Translation renders the verse thus: “ It is useless; it is like chasing the wind. It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.”

If you think until you get a certain thing, you cannot enjoy life, you will see that after getting it, you’ll become dissatisfied. Another new thing will emerge, inviting you to get it! When will you stop pursuing things and start enjoying what you have and enjoying life? The Amplified Bible puts Ecclesiastes 6:9 this way: “What the eyes see [enjoying what is available] is better than [craving] what the soul desires. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.”

Those who have not learnt the lesson of not needlessly desiring things have so many items decorating their homes that they had made serious efforts to acquire. After achieving their goals of acquiring these items, there remains a vacuum in their hearts. The things they have acquired mean nothing to them again.

It is the same reason that many people can’t enjoy their money. They keep pursuing making more money, hoping that would make them happier and their lives better. While you must seek to advance in life, enjoy life at your present level; enjoy what God has blessed you with now.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes?” (New King James Version). Be grateful to God and enjoy what you have. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 says, “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor — it is the gift of God” (New King James Version).

Some people are not able to enjoy what they have because of comparison and competition. They don’t appreciate what God has done for them or what they have. They covet what others have because they believe it is better than what they have.

Life is in phases. Maybe God has a plan to give them what they covet but it is not yet the right time for the things. Probably they are not mature yet for them. Yet they’re envious of and competing with people they don’t know their story or history. They don’t know what they have been through. They don’t know where they are coming from. Instead of enjoying what they have, they make life unnecessarily miserable for themselves. Don’t be stupid!

Paul said, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12-13 New King James Version). Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have (Hebrews 13:5a).

Jesus said to beware and guard against every kind of greed; life is not measured by how much you own. As the New King James  Version puts it, take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15). Grand corruption is usually because of greed, and not because of need. Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (New King James Version). Don’t let your eyes be like the eyes this verse refers to. Enjoy what you have.

Instead of continuing to enjoy the manna God had given them, the Israelites were influenced by the mixed multitude among them who began to crave the good things of Egypt. The Israelites craved meat to eat. They recalled the fish and the other things they used to eat in Egypt, forgetting that they were slaves there but God had delivered them.

Numbers 11:4-6 says, “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes’” (New King James Version).

They despised the manna the LORD had given them instead of continuing to enjoy it. He gave them the meat that they craved but not without consequences. Numbers 11:33-34 says, “But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving” (New King James Version). Referring to this, Psalm 106:15 says the LORD gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.

Beware of the lust of the eyes – “a craving for everything we see” (1 John 2:16b New Living Translation). It is not of the Father but is of the world. Enjoy what you have. It is not your valuables that determine your value. Having more money or more things does not always mean living a better life.

Don’t trust in your money or feel secure because of your wealth. “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10b New King James Version). Give thanks to God and enjoy what you have. Avoid a craving for more and more. “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor — this is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 New King James Version).

Enjoy what you have and glorify God with everything.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, thank You for everything that You have given me. I shall enjoy what I have rather than desiring what I don’t have. I receive good health and long life to enjoy all you’ve given me. I shall not build and another inhabit; I shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall my days. I receive the grace to enjoy the fruit of my labour. I shall not labour and another person will enjoy the fruit. I will not work in vain, and my children will not be doomed to misfortune.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org