Main Verse:
“But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless — like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”
— Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NLT)
Main Devotion:
In today’s world, it has become easier to notice the success and achievements of others and to become enslaved to the worldly definition of success. For example, with just a brief moment of browsing through social media, you may start questioning why your life isn’t as successful as others’. The idea of being seen as a failure in the eyes of other people scares us more than anything. We fear failure, rejection, and the like. So we strive for more and try to attain more.
The author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, summarized all his attempts at finding life’s meaning and chasing success as “chasing the wind” — a metaphorical expression that refers to pursuing something yet often resulting in fruitless endeavors. Like the wind, we feel it as it passes, but we can’t hold on to it or keep it.
In our own pursuit of success, we encounter too many paths, often finding ourselves lost in the midst of it all. We spend all our time working on things that would make us appear successful to other people and bring us personal pleasure to glorify ourselves. However, even after accomplishing these things, we still feel unsatisfied and empty inside. Or perhaps, no matter how much we try, there’s this thirst that just cannot be satisfied.
In all our accomplishments, even the significant ones, our good feelings are only temporary. Security and self-worth are found not in these accomplishments, but far beyond them in the love of God. As long as we keep chasing worldly things, we will always thirst and never be satisfied by the world’s definition of success.
Think about what you consider worthwhile — where you place your time, energy, and money. Will you one day look back and decide that this, too, was only “chasing the wind”?
Reflections:
Examine your heart. Who are you really working hard for? Where do you think you will find your success?
Like Solomon, have you experienced success in something, only to later find it purposeless because you were “chasing the wind”?
Which aspect of your life do you now think seems to be akin to “chasing the wind”?
Prayer:
Father, thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. Help me guard my heart to seek only Your Kingdom rather than chasing temporal things here on earth. Remind me that true success is found only in Your Will. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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Writer : Runi Parale