Historical Posts

Chasing The Wind

Wisdom, knowledge and happiness come to those who put God first. To those who don't life remains meaningless, a fruitless exercise of chasing the wind.

Does life have meaning? Can we find hope and happiness? Are we just chasing the wind?

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the most interesting in the Old Testament.

Some think it offers a somewhat skeptical and pessimistic view of life, but, in fact, it gives a poignant refutation of materialism.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Wealth, wisdom, power, pleasure and fame are all fleeting. Solomon, generally thought to be the author, observed: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 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” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Ecclesiastes offers the attitude of one looking at life from a purely materialistic point of view.

It portrays the hopelessness of those who trust in wealth, power, pleasure and knowledge. They are chasing the wind. Experience teaches that rich or poor, wise or foolish, great or small, all must die. That being true, Solomon lamented: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:17-18).

Maybe you’ve felt the same sense of futility the author of Ecclesiastes experienced.

If you have, don’t despair! There is hope. Having tried it all, Solomon concluded that man’s whole duty was “to fear God and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Wisdom, knowledge and happiness come to those who put Him first, but to those who don’t life remains meaningless, an exercise of chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:25-26). A man may chase the wind, but he will never capture it.

Is there meaning to life? Is there hope? Can man find happiness?

Yes! But not in material pursuits! There is no lasting satisfaction or joy in a life apart from God. The struggle is futile until He comes into the picture. You may be rich, powerful and famous, but if you leave God out of your life it will all have been for nothing. You will have spent your life chasing the wind!