Ecclesiastes 1: 12-2:11v 17 “So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.”
I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless- like chasing the wind. I said to myself, “Look I have greater wisdom than any of the Kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me.” So, I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.” I said to myself, “ Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look at the good things in life.” Laughter is silly, I decided to cheer myself with wine, I built a huge home, I collected great sums of silver and gold. I had everything that a man could desire. I even found great pleasure in hard work. But as I looked at everything, I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all meaningless- like chasing the wind.
There are no solutions in this passage. But then I too can relate to being overwhelmed by life. To wonder at my own struggles, those of family and friends and then the world. Trying to find lasting happiness, a calm and ordered life, free from anxiety, anger and sadness. Is it all meaningless, like chasing the wind? We each must find our own answers in our daily struggles and joys. The final answer is in the last verse of the book of Ecclesiastes, and there are some words of wisdom in the pages before that too. Each of us is unique. Each day requires us to choose to be the person we want to be. Being directed by a loving God is the first choice I make every day. And the wind for me comes in many different forms, from a refreshing cool summer breeze, to a freezing winter storm that makes you cover every inch of your body in warm clothing. It can be caught in a windmill to provide us with sustainable energy, it can be caught in the leaves of a tree that causes it to topple to the ground, but we are not in control of it just like our complex lives we must learn to navigate each day.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the wind that comes and goes around us and the many varied experiences in our lives. Help us to turn to you for direction in all we do. Amen.
CrossWalk 