Ecclesiastes 11:6 offers us some good advice. It says, “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another…or maybe both.”

When we imagine those things that profit our lives, I suspect we jump first to our financial portfolio. After all, we’d like things to look up and feel more secure. This Scripture could certainly apply to your wise investments, but let’s look at other things that profit, bring out the good, and create more joy in your life. Maybe one of the first seeds to plant in the morning is one of gratitude for what you have right now. When you wake up from a cozy night’s sleep, move on to your favorite morning beverage and a warm shower, you can’t help feeling grateful. It’s a blessing beyond measure that brings instant seeds of contentment. Gratitude, saying thanks to God and to those around you who make an incredible difference in your life, are the things that make rising each morning worthwhile.

As the morning progresses, you might find that you profit from a warm conversation with an old friend, or by taking the opportunity to send a card or a note to someone special. You might profit by spending more time in prayer, or by lending someone else a helping hand. After all, any time you plant seeds of kindness, they come back to you tenfold. You harvest more joy than you had before. What a great way to raise your profits!

Solomon doesn’t stop the process with the morning though, he tells us to keep busy all afternoon as well. After all, you don’t know what will profit you the most. You don’t know which kind deed, grateful word, focused project will bring about results that you never dreamed possible. Of course, once you plant the seeds, you have to let them grow on their own, trusting that others will nurture them, and that God will provide the increase. That’s how it works best. All I know for sure is that God loves creative efforts to bless those around you any way possible. Every time you do, He sprinkles a little more goodness in your direction as well. Your generosity will not go unrewarded. In fact, your future looks very profitable indeed!

Come to God with a heart of gratitude and He will bring you even greater delight with each morning sunrise.