The scripture for today, February 11, is Ecclesiastes 2:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, nothing was gained under the sun.”
King Solomon wrote this. He tried everything to bring deep happiness and satisfaction. He tried writing proverbs and songs. He tried every pleasure there was. He tried working hard with his hands. He tried investing his money and becoming the richest man in the world. Nothing worked. He still couldn’t achieve the deep happiness he longed for.
There was a book published a few years ago entitled, HOW TO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE. It seems that, for most of us, the deep contented happiness we all crave is always just around the corner. If we could just be selected for that promotion, if we could just get married, if we could just get a pay raise, if we could just be on the winning team, if we could just have children, if we could just get that house or car. Always if. The problem is that, once we attain what we believe will bring us happiness, we just want the next promotion, the next pay raise, a different marriage partner, the next house, no children, the next car.
What was Solomon’s conclusion? You’ll find it in the final few verses of Ecclesiastes: True happiness comes from a love relationship with God