Over the last couple of days, I have read through the book of Ecclesiastes as part of my daily reading. It is a book that can seem confusing until you understand the theme. The premise of the book is the fact that without God all of life is meaningless. All of our pursuits, all the things we strive for, bring nothing to us if we don’t have God.
Most would focus on that aspect, encouraging us to not pursue things without God, or to find our meaning in God. My heart and mind went on a different path, though. My heart sang out praises to God for being a God who gives meaning to my life.
He brings meaning because He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8). There is nothing before Him, there is nothing that will come after Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
He brings meaning because He is the Lord, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5). He alone is the Lord of all creation. He alone holds all of creation in His hands, sovereignly caring for and providing for all of His creation (Psalm 104).
He brings meaning because He is the Creator of the universe (John 1:3) and yet desires to call me His child (John 1:12). He desires to have an intimate relationship with me even as He keeps the stars and the moon and the sun in their proper places. He is my Father to whom I can cry out, knowing that He hears me and will answer me (1 John 5:14-15).
He brings meaning because He is my Redeemer (Isaiah 47:4). He gave His Son to pay the sin debt that I owed (Titus 2:14). Again, so that I might have a relationship with Him. So that I would be able to stand with confidence before His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). He redeems me and calls me righteous (Romans 5:18-19).
He brings meaning because He rescues me out of the pit and lifts me up out of the muck and the mire (Psalm 40:2). He sets my feet on a rock. In fact, He is my Rock (Psalm 18:2). He guards (Psalm 91:11) and protects me and delivers me from the traps of my enemies (Psalm 41).
He brings meaning because He delights in me and sings over me (Zephaniah 3:17). He surrounds me with His steadfast love (Psalm 32:10). He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). He is always with me (Psalm 139:7-12). He knows everything about me, and yet He loves me (Psalm 139:1-6). He is more powerful than anything or anyone.
God gives meaning to our lives because He is God. I pray you know, as Solomon knew—life is just toiling under the sun and chasing dust in the wind without God.