Ecclesiastes 2 -- What We REALLY Want

Solomon wanted answers.  It seems that the prayer he’d prayed for wisdom had led him to actually believe that he would find ultimate pleasure on this earth.  The list of what didn’t work grew longer by the day:  gratification of his personal desires, wild fun, wine, grand architectural projects, the accumulation of “stuff”, being served, music, sex, prestige, and intellectual pursuits to name a few.

In the end, this illusive treasure hunt galled him because he’d amassed so much only to realize that whoever inherited it couldn’t possibly find enjoyment in it all and would likely squander it!

He found that “true pleasure comes from noble renunciations rather than from frenzied accumulations,” my commentary said.  It added, “I can discover within me no power of perception which is not glutted with its proper pleasures … Man has surely some latent sense for which this place affords no gratification.”

A former athlete was quoted in my commentary, after having tried the same tactics Solomon had:  “I knew in my heart that no one could meet my need but God Himself.  Soon after, I found in Christ what I could never find in the world.”

Solomon discovered that satisfaction comes from honest work, and that man does not have the power of enjoyment UNLESS it is given to him by God, my commentary also stated.

Father, I agree that You created me with a God-shaped hole in my heart, and my heart will NOT rest until it finds rest in You.  Keep me from looking anywhere else for what only You can give.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford