Less or Full?
By Leigh Ann Sickinger
“Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2
By Leigh Ann Sickinger
“Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2
A few days ago, I went through a day where many little disappointments turned my day sour. Nothing really traumatic happened, but after spending the day hearing numerous things that I was saddened or disappointed in, I felt my sadness and tears start to come to the surface. On this day, I started to wonder about the little things that I do every day and how important is anything I do, REALLY? On this day I was struggling with God, trying to understand and trying to feel the purpose of life and the purpose of my seemingly meaningless daily affairs.
I thought back to the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible and all the statements about life being “meaningless.” Solomon, the author, has put in writing exactly how I feel. He has put into words how my life sometimes seems to be unimportant. The mundane daily routine and the repetitive nature of my days are for what? Solomon spends many chapters dedicated to this nothingness of life, but his last verses sum up what life should be all about: “Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc. 12:13b).
My ultimate purpose here can only be found in God Himself. Everything I do here on earth and in my lifetime must be focused on God’s purpose and plan. “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58) Everything beyond that is meaningless, just like Solomon suggested. But doing God’s will is so MEANINGFUL! If I only listen and do what God directs me to do, my life is filled with meaningful acts, conversations, thoughts and people. So on days that I feel life is meaningless, I need to ask God, “What do you want me to do today?” to find meaning in my life again. A life doing God’s will is never meaningless.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Today, start your day by asking, “God, please show me what you want me to do today.” Try to find God’s guidance throughout the day and “do” what He asks of you.
2. If you find something that you are doing today to be meaningless, ask yourself if you are doing it for God or yourself. If it’s not God’s will, maybe you don’t need to be doing it. Or maybe you need to ponder how you can involve God in it to make it meaningful.
FURTHER READING:
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14; 2 Cor. 5:15
Leigh Ann is a wife, mother of four, and Co-coordinator of the Adoption Support Group at Oakwood Church.
