Diana and
Dave love to ride their jet skis on the lake, skimming across the water on warm
sunny days. But one morning the weather was cool and mostly cloudy, and Diana
couldn’t convince Dave to go out. So she went on her own. It was so cold that
she flitted back and forth across the lake, trying to keep herself in the
sunshine for some needed warmth. But every time she reached a sunny area, the
clouds moved and it quickly turned to shade. Realizing the futility and
silliness of chasing the sunshine, she finally gave up because it didn’t bring
her what she wanted.
King
Solomon did another kind of chasing that couldn’t bring him satisfaction (Eccl. 2:1).
In the first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes 2 alone, he mentions that he chased
after pleasure, laughter, wine, wisdom, houses, gardens, money, possessions,
and music. But his evaluation was that “all was vanity and grasping for the
wind. There was no profit under the sun” (2:11). Those pursuits were
empty—“vanity of vanities” (1:2). He wisely concluded: “Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is man’s all” (12:13).
Are you
chasing after some of the same things that Solomon was? It’s a vain pursuit.
Purpose and satisfaction come only from knowing and obeying God.
Only God
can fill an empty heart. (RBC)
