Week 3 of 4
Provision that never comes home is only half a gift.
You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me.
Acts 20:34
Paul stands in front of the Ephesian elders and points at his hands. These hands served my needs and the needs of those with me. He worked so he could give, and he quotes Jesus: it is more blessed to give than to receive. Proverbs tells a man to know the condition of his flocks, because wealth does not last forever. A husband can earn and still not provide, if the hands never turn toward the house. The fruit of labor is meant to be eaten with them, not admired from a distance.
Formal study reading, written for this series
Formal study reading, written for this series
You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
His hands were the argument. The aim was to help the weak.
Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever.
Know the actual condition of what you are stewarding. It will not manage itself.
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. 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.
The ability to enjoy your work and to share it is itself a gift of God.
NASB, the Amplified, and the ESV open on Bible Hub. The Legacy Standard Bible opens on its own reader. Close, Expanded, and Easy on this page are original study readings. WEB is the World English Bible, public domain.
Paul’s example is not the executive who never appears. It is hands that worked and then helped. In a marriage the weak are not a charity case down the road only. They are the wife who is depleted, the child who needs a father in the evening, the ordinary bills no one claps for. “More blessed to give” dies if the giving never reaches the table.
Ecclesiastes is a mercy to driven men. God gives the power to enjoy. If you cannot receive a meal, a day off, or her company without guilt, you are not more holy. You are refusing a gift. Know the flock. Then eat the fruit with the people the work was for.
Look at the actual condition: the roof, the debt, her tiredness, a child who needs you between six and eight. Attention is provision. Choose one neglected thing and one hour of presence. Do both.
Enjoy something with her on purpose this week. Not as a reward you earned for being impressive. As a man receiving the gift of his lot.
Stays on this device. No account.
Lord Jesus, you said it is more blessed to give than to receive, and you gave until your hands were open on a cross. Teach my hands to work and to turn toward my house. Do not let me earn a living and withhold a life. Give me eyes for the real condition of this flock, and the humility to enjoy what you give. Amen.
Save a copy of your devotionals and week notes, or put a saved copy back. Nothing leaves this device until you save the file.