The world tends to always take any milestone or accomplishment and respond with, “That’s great. So what’s next?” On and on through life, the question comes on constant repeat.
Today, let’s listen to a passage from King Solomon in his frustration with the “What’s next?”
“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 NLT)
Petty cynical, huh? Well, we all have days when we feel this same way. Solomon was simply voicing what we in the human race feel quite often.
Now, listen to him in chapter 3, verses 11-13:
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
We all feel the weight of what Solomon expressed in the first passage: meaningless feelings about our days. But God is the crucial element in life to bring value and purpose, even to the mundane and the seemingly meaningless.
What is one way you can recognize God’s gift in what often seems mundane in your life?
Life itself, even on the meaningless days, is indeed a gift from Him.
Let’s pray: “Father, help me look for beauty, value, purpose, eternity, and to look for Your work in my world and celebrate your gifts, especially the gift of life. As above, so below.”