Surprising Wisdom for Living Well in a Broken World.
Enjoying the human journey through this world can seem impossible. So much is going wrong in these dark days. And the daily personal demands never let up. Who has the time—much less the freedom of heart—to play, to laugh, to delight? What’s more, those following Christ can also feel duty-bound to live in sacrificial austerity.
But God’s strategy for wise living includes bold enjoyment. In fact, any “Christianity” that feels embarrassed about enjoying God’s good gifts dishonors him and leaves Christians with less to give their suffering world.
With a pastor’s heart, Ray Ortlund invites readers to embrace God’s strategy for facing reality and living well. Meditating on Ecclesiastes 11:9–10, Ortlund explains how following Christ here in this world is a nuanced mix of both suffering and happiness. Ecclesiastes is a gospel call to accept the suffering and to savor the happiness—and savor it boldly.
Preface
Chapter 1: Why I love this passage, and why you can too
Chapter 2: Rejoice, O young man in your youth
Chapter 3: Let your heart cheer you
Chapter 4: But know this
Chapter 5: Remove vexation, put away pain
Chapter 6: What then is God’s wisdom for you in this life?
Chapter 7: What is God’s promise to you for the next life?
Conclusion
Concluding Prayers
Acknowledgments
| Contributors | Ray Ortlund |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9798874905811 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | May 2026 |
| Dimensions | 127mm x 178mm x 11mm |
| Weight | 0.16 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 160 |
| Publisher | Crossway |
Ray Ortlund has written on a truth that is desperately needed and yet somehow forgotten: that feasting is holy, laughing until your cheeks hurt delights the heart of God, and playing until your body is tired and soul is full is part of God’s good design for us. In Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, Ray masterfully shows us from Ecclesiastes that one of God’s great desires for us is in these short lives we’ve been given is the enjoyment of his grace found in the everyday and the ordinary.
Uplifting, insightful, and, above all, full of wisdom—I wish this book had been around thirty years ago. Written by a true sage for those looking for more of the grace and joy of Christ in their lives.
