Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 “Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 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.”

One of the saddest parts of spending one’s life chasing after “happiness” is that so many people don’t even know what it is that will make them happy. Those who aren’t sure often go out and begin some long ‘experiment’ trying this and that to see if fulfillment can be found. Even those who are certain they know exactly what it is they want and what will make them happy, oftentimes pursue it and never catch it. Or, if they catch it, they find that it is not anything at all like they imagined it would be. Perhaps a momentary thrill but certainly no lasting fulfillment. This question of happiness so perplexed even the wisest man who ever lived, that he ‘objectively’ set out to determine what on earth there was worth having and worth doing. He was in a position, unlike most of us, to deny himself nothing. If he wanted it, he got it. More lovers, more money, more possessions, more parties…everything. After all of that, he concluded the only thing worth doing was following God’s commands! In the end, choosing your will over the Father’s will be about as fulfilling as chasing the wind… happiness not included.

Pray: “Dearest Lord, I have seen the folly of the world. I know that the happiness it offers is merely a mirage, a false image that promises something substantial but delivers nothing. My chance for true happiness and fulfillment lies only with you. Help me, I pray, to choose your will every time. In Jesus’ holy and powerful name I pray – Amen