Made For So Much More

Have you ever been disappointed with your life? Has there ever been a time in your life where you found yourself saying, “What’s the use?” Life can do that to us. We work hard—at our job, at our ministry, at school, on our relationships. And then comes that time when you stop, and look it all over and ask, “Does it even matter?” I think we have all been there. Some may be there right now. If you find or have found yourself in this dilemma, most of the time, the reason is that we are relying on too much of ourselves, or too much of this world instead of looking beyond all this and realizing that we are made for so much more than this. Let’s take a look at this same dilemma Solomon found himself in as he wrote about it in the book of Ecclesiastes. PRAYER.

The first patent for the treadmill was issued in 1913, but that wasn’t the first treadmill. The treadmill had already been used as a punishment device in the prisons. Some today might say that nothing has changed. Whether it’s used for exercise or punishment, a treadmill still requires the expense of energy to go nowhere. Sometimes, life feels like that. We put effort into relationships, work, family, and more, and it feels like we’re going nowhere.

The first several verses of Ecclesiastes capture this reality well and sum it up in one word: Futility. When we think of Solomon in the Bible, we usually think of him as the wisest person to ever have lived. He was wealthy beyond imagination. He was

powerful and influential throughout the known world. He had the ability to pursue anything that he wanted. And yet, despite it all, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, a text which we might find to be difficult if not depressing. Despite all his resources, Solomon reflected on how meaningless it all was.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 – “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” 3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?”

We have already pretty much admitted that there have been times in our lives when we have been disappointed. But maybe we are looking at disappointment from the wrong point of view. Allow me to explain.

Solomon was systematically examining every part of life under the sun. He looked closely at pleasure, work, time, knowledge, and even wisdom itself. And with each one found that there was always something missing. Everything left him wanting for more. And, as you read the book of Ecclesiastes, you will find that, that's the recurring theme throughout the book. After each aspect of life is examined, Solomon found it all to be futile. Every time!

Every component of life was destroyed—crushed under the weight of expecting more. With each and every aspect of life, Solomon found that it couldn't provide the kind of satisfaction that we want. And with each one we find ourselves eventually disappointed. Work never truly satisfies. Pleasure is never enough. Knowledge is never fulfilling.

And that essentially is the bad news of the book of Ecclesiastes. Whenever, we look to anything under the sun for fulfillment and satisfaction, we'll eventually cry out as Solomon did, "It is all futile." But even though that's the bad news of Ecclesiastes, it is also the good news. As you read the book, you'll find that it's more than just disappointment, it's disappointment by design. God caused it to happen so that we would certainly look for more. Disappointment is an opportunity to look elsewhere. You may be beginning to see the point behind it all.

God has made all these things in such a way that they will crumble. And with everything crumbling, we're reminded of the vanity of everything under the sun when we put too much weight on it. As we're reminded of this, we have to refocus our expectations on something that won't crumble under that weight of life.

And the way that God planned it all, this isn't a lesson learned only once. It's one that we need to be reminded of again and again. If we really think deeply about it, I think we can all agree that we constantly look for things of this world to do what they were never meant to do. We put weight on these things that they were never meant to carry. But every time they crumble and every time we're disappointed, that disappointment is an opportunity to look elsewhere.

Ecclesiastes 1:4-7 – “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it hurries back to the place