When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Come to Me. Matthew 11:28.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12.

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18.

Do you ever wonder why things are the way they are? Should things have been made differently? What would you change if you could? There is a song sung by The Byrds, called Turn! Turn! Turn! – whose lyrics are the words of the verses in our chapter, Ecclesiastes 3, v. 1-8: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Solomon goes on…What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever – nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear Him…So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?…v. 9-14, 22.

Solomon used the word meaningless again…Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?…v. 19-21.

Who knows? Creator God – Father…Son…Spirit. Solomon keeps using the phrase, “I know…” in his search for understanding of wisdom. I find myself using that phrase a lot in prayers to God and I have to stop myself. I don’t know. Something essential is missing in Solomon’s understanding from his lifetime of observing life as it played out for him and those around him. I keep going back to David, a man after God’s own heart. Paul spoke of David…After removing Saul, He made David their king. God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised. Acts 13:22-23.

What about us today? I loved this…For the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17. David understood that and drew near to God always. Solomon, his son, lived a clinical life filled with wisdom that he tried to understand without the help of God, who is wisdom and so much more…God is Love. For all of Solomon’s wisdom given by God so he could govern his people, it was not God’s wisdom. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since…in the wisdom of God…the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength…God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of this world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:20-21, 25, 27-31.

What would I change? Nothing. Love without ceasing and draw near to God. Our lives are not for meaningless, and it is with God that we find our true selves in Him.