In the book of Ecclesiastes, I am uncomfortably struck by the many verses that highlight how ‘meaningless’ life is, as the author (most Christian scholars agree to be King Solomon “The Teacher”) contemplates aspects of our lives here on earth that, quite frankly, make no sense.

Here are just a few of them.  But, be warned….if you read too many in succession, you might as well read the entire book of Job!  Here, I am using the NLT, since other versions weren’t quite as vividly descriptive as I found the New Living Translation to be.

“I [The Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem] observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!””
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:14-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“…Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people, and low positions to people of proven worth.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭10:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Wow.  Kind of a downer, huh?

… I basically plucked these verses out of the many verses that are commiserative, because they are true depictions of our plights here on earth.  We can all identify with the uncomfortable ironies of life here on earth.

The good thing is, King Solomon does indeed trace every good thing back to God.  But I became ever more thankful to God for sending His Son, Jesus to break through every meaningless plight we face here on our earthly journey!

Enter…Jesus (a relationship King Solomon did not get to experience, not understandably so anyway) and everything changes!

Jesus’ power changes the meaningless into the meaningful!  What seems senseless, now has a purpose; which is to show the great power of Christ!  Evil is overcome.  Death loses its sting! Eternal life and joy is now very possible through believing in Jesus.  We can fully trust Jesus through every irony in life!  No matter how troubling or senseless it seems!

The complexities of life keep us dependent on Jesus.  They force us to keep our eyes on Him, not on all the circumstances that don’t make any sense to us.  What does make sense is: that in Christ we find everything we are looking for.  We may not even know what that truly is right now.  But, then, God orchestrates His plan.  And we somehow find ourselves standing at the center of His will wondering how we ever got there!  A trajectory we tried to plan for, but couldn’t control every outcome to go as we had hoped or desired.  Jesus trekked the impossible for us.  And THAT makes no sense, either!  Only in a really, really good way!

And all along the path/way, Jesus not only gives us what we need, but greater still, we come to learn that He Himself is our greatest need!  When we surrender to His lordship in our life, our future is secure!  Perhaps scary at times, but nevertheless, secure.  We walk by faith.  And when we do, it no longer has to make sense, because walking daily with Jesus is the most meaningful way we could ever spend our lives, come what may!

Be encouraged to stay with Jesus!  Nothing is meaningless when you walk closely with Him.

Love & Blessings!
-Cindy Magsig ❤️