We hope you enjoy this re-post from May 29, 2015. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team

Lord, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the measure of my days —what it is; let me know and realize how frail I am [how transient is my stay here]… Surely every man walks to and fro—like a shadow in a pantomime; surely for futility and emptiness he is in turmoil; each one heaps up riches, not knowing who will gather them. – Psalm 39:4, 6, Amplified Bible (AMP)

I recently received an email from a young man, and in the email he described himself as monetarily successful, blessed with a wonderful wife and son, and happily involved in his local church. Then came his question:

Every day I wake up knowing that I’m not the success I wish I was, and I don’t feel secure about my future.  I don’t love my job, and I’m not blazing a trail that I can look back on and be proud of. I’ve asked everyone I can think of for help, but no one can help me.  I figured I’d try you.

In my response to him, I encouraged him to ask himself a deep, penetrating question: Who is he working for? Himself, or God? Are his business ventures aimed at making money? Or, are they aimed at glorifying God, knowing that money is the byproduct – not the driving motivation – of a worthwhile effort in the Lord’s service?

As Psalm 39:4-7 teaches, life is very short, and anxiety often comes our way when we make the focus of our short life the heaping up of riches rather than service to God and to our fellow man. The reason the anxiety is there is because, on a subconscious level, we realize the futility of ignoring God’s purposes so that we can pursue our own. When we switch the focus of our attention from serving our temporary lusts to serving God’s eternal goals, we experience the peace that passes all understanding because we are doing what Jesus told us to do: seek God’s kingdom first, trust Him to provide our earthly needs, and lay up treasures in Heaven that will last for eternity. By making this switch in focus, we shed the burdensome yoke of worldly expectations, exchanging it for the easy yoke that Jesus promised if we would but live life His way. Simply put, the Creator wired us all to enjoy inner peace only when we live in harmony with His way of living. Any time we do things our way, we don’t enjoy the harmony with God we were designed to seek, and we suffer anxiety as a result.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wealth. There is nothing inherently wrong with having goals to strive for. Just make sure that you strive after these things for God’s glory and not for your own. If you do, then God will supply you with the contentment and the peace that you seek.