Read: Ecclesiastes 2:9-20
Then I considered all that my hands had done . . . and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind. (v. 11)
My gardening article was going to be published in a national magazine, and I was excited. But when the issue came out, I was shocked to see another writer’s name under the title! What a mistake! While the magazine printed a (small) correction in the next issue, it didn’t ease my disappointment and frustration. I felt robbed of all the joy I had felt about my work.
Frustration and the resulting weariness have always been a part of our work here on earth, and in our reading today the Preacher of Ecclesiastes reflects on his own experiences with them. At first, his work had brought him satisfaction; “my heart found pleasure in all my toil” (v. 10). But as he considered the inevitable end of all his work, he began to despair. Although he was wise, he would die, just as fools die, and his place would be taken by another. He and his work would be forgotten. What was the point of his life’s work? What lasting benefit was there in wisdom? In his weariness, he declared “So I hated life” (v. 17) and “I hated all my toil” (v. 18).
So far in these early passages in Ecclesiastes we have not seen much consideration of God or eternity in the Preacher’s thinking. Like the Preacher, when we see things only from a human, earthly perspective, we fail to see God at work in our lives. And that often leads to weariness.
As you pray, look for God at work in your present circumstances.
Laura N. Sweet is a wife, mother, grandmother, and former Christian school teacher from Midland, Michigan. She writes devotional material for both adults and children, and her work has appeared in more than a dozen publications.
