DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY August 3, 2022
The Way to Avoid an Empty Life
Only God can fulfill the yearning we have inside.
I said to myself, ``Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility. I said of laughter, ``It is madness," and of pleasure, ``What does it accomplish?" I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also, I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines. Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Many people appear happy and confident in public, but beneath the surface, they feel empty. Despite their attempts to fill life with pleasures, work, and impressive accomplishments, it’s all vanity. They have chased after fulfillment and purpose, but ultimately it’s been as futile as trying to catch the wind.
There’s a good reason why life can feel empty. God created mankind with an internal yearning—one that He alone is able to satisfy. We cannot be fulfilled until we draw near to the Lord in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. As we come to know and comprehend the love of God’s Son, we’ll be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19).
Yet if that’s true, why do believers sometimes feel empty? It could result from disobedience, a refusal to surrender to God’s will, or misplaced priorities as we seek fulfillment in the world rather than in God Himself. When our hearts are set on having circumstances work out a certain way in life, we miss out on the fulfillment that God promises to those who seek Him above all else. It is in His presence that we find fullness of joy and pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11).
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