Session 4

Good news: life is meaningless

From Ecclesiastes: A 20-Day Devotional

Have you ever come to the end of a long season of work and thought it was all pointless? You'd done your best, but it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough money, enough hours in the day, or enough willpower to make the dream come true. If making seemingly wise decisions won't save you when you need it, why not just cave into temptation or give up? All your options seem to lead to the same place of hopelessness anyway.

Outside of belief in Jesus, this life is meaningless. Attaining wealth, wisdom, and pleasure has no lasting significance outside of Him. But, when we give our lives to Jesus, He makes this promise: "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).

The truth is Jesus owns the world, and we can rest and know that no toil, no hardship, and no failure is outside of His plan. He placed us in this time and place for a reason. God has entrusted us with this life. As Paul shows us in Philippians 3:12, we find meaning and purpose in our lives when we give our lives to Jesus and pursue His plan for us. God doesn't do anything without a purpose.

Reflect:

• What situation in your life seems pointless right now?
• What is the easy way out?
• In what way is God asking you to trust Him?