The Teacher said, “God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. I observed everything going on under the sun and really, it is all meaningless⏤like chasing the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14

Don’t you feel like this could be a current news headline⏤”It’s all meaningless; we’re chasing the wind.”

What are we all running to catch? Knowledge is increasing exponentially and here we are trying to stay up-to-date on a never-ending merry-go-round of information. There is no end in sight.

Do you feel the exasperation of chasing after the next shiny object, that we don’t even like, just so we can impress people we don’t really care about?

What it means to chase the wind

Chasing the wind implies we can never catch what we’re after. And even if we could catch the wind, it’s evasive and slips through our fingers⏤an elusive and slippery entity.

Why do we chase after things that are so elusive, that can’t be caught, that if we’re honest with ourselves, have no real value.

Ways we chase the wind

Chasing after knowledge and wisdom requires all our effort, and that won’t even scratch the surface of the reams of information in our world. In addition, as we grow in knowledge and wisdom, we also grow in grief and sorrow.

It wasn’t until we arrived at adulthood that responsibilities piled onto us and we discovered that challenges were part of our everyday story.

Chasing after pleasure is meaningless. There is no value, nothing worthwhile, in the constant pursuit of the so-called “good life.” We can’t know what is good in life apart from experiencing the bad. So as we’re pursuing good, bad is right there in the mix.

Accumulating wealth and possessions is meaningless. The more we have, the more time we must spend managing our possessions, or managing those who manage our possessions.

Even hard work and what it accomplishes is meaningless. We may enjoy the pursuit, but the results are found to be wanting, in the end.

All the hard work that has earned wealth or possessions is meaningless because what has been earned will be left to successors who may be fools.

What makes life meaningful?

Observe those who are chasing after knowledge, pleasure or possessions. Are they experiencing peace? What about joy?

Without God at the bulls-eye of our pursuit, these pursuits … and life itself … become meaningless.

The Lord is the only one who gives value to anything or any activity we pursue. Without Him, our pursuit and attainment of other things counts for nothing.

Only as the Lord is central to our activities and pursuits do these endeavors prove to be meaningful.

God alone brings meaning to life.

When His Spirit blows, we don’t know where it came from or where it goes. But we can allow the breath of the Lord to send seeds to the needy places in our hearts.

There is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. These pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from Him? God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy to those who please Him.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

So choose today to pause and consider the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon you. Express your gratitude for the many ways He reveals His presence to you each day. Rejoice that your Heavenly Father has not left you as an orphan; He is with you on your journey through the good and bad, guiding your steps to His everlasting arms.

Prayer: Lord, help me recognize when I am chasing after meaningless things in this life. I want to see You and experience Your presence more clearly each day. Enable me to see shimmers of Your closeness to me, Your whispers to my spirit, that You are with me and that all will be well.

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