Rivers of Joy (Ecclesiastes 8-9)

There’s a river swelling with surprise that runs through Ecclesiastes. Its waters can be found streaming through most chapters. And yet, because it’s surrounded by banks of hardship, it can be easy to miss. Or easy to gloss over, without taking a moment to dip our feet in the water, and to feel the refreshment it brings.

We’ve sat in the soil of this crooked world. We’ve soaked our minds in the confusing reality before us. We’ve wrestled with the frustrations of our limitedness. And we’ve gradually accepted the loving goad that there are no neat answers to life’s mysteries. There’s no easy path through the crevices of darkness that lie either behind or ahead.

But there is one path, forged by these surprising waters. Waters that are full to bursting with the simplest yet most surprising command. Waters that enable us to meander through the banks of hardship and help us to breathe, quite extraordinarily, with a gladness of heart. They are waters that very simply command us to enjoy the life before us.

In the face of this fleeting, confusing, limited life we’re living, our wise preacher king commands joy!

Joy in eating. Joy in drinking. Joy in working. Joy in loving.

The more we see these days as a gift, and the more we see their fleeting nature, the more we’ll search for the simple joys within them. There’s no extravagance in these waters. There’s no out of the ordinary here. It’s the simple joys that come from seeing life as a gift, even whilst the banks of hardship may hem us in.

In this crooked world that shouts that we have no mastery or certainty over the length of our days, there is something we can indeed control: the pursuit of joy.