Chasing after the Wind ~ Ecclesiastes 8
- Dan Potter
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
“When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.” Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 ESV
I believe possibly the most difficult sentence in the world for most to verbalize contains only three words. Three words that tell the world much of who we are, or more specifically, who we think we are. Yes, there is a great chasm between how the world sees a man and how the man sees himself. And just what is this most difficult sentence that can span the gap of that chasm?
I don’t know.
I’ve been there. In front of a group that I deem to have importance and as the conversation ensues and lofty topics present themselves, the game begins. A game of verbal chess. And the checkmate seemingly belongs to the one that claims to possess the most knowledge of said topic. And, most times, the truth of said knowledge is not vital, only the confident presentation. And there, at times in my life, guilty of sinful pride that manifests itself in my over-confident words, I just cannot seem to bow down to my mental competition and utters those difficult little three words…I don’t know.
But to be honest, uttering those three little words speaks many more words about the person that lets them slip. It says to the world not just “I don’t know” about said topic, but I am admitting that I don’t know everything about said topic. It speaks a simplistic, honest humility of the individual that is confessing the fact that they don’t have all the answers. An act of humility, unfortunately, that has grown to be not only rare, but even distasteful in our world today. Yes, those three little words speak volumes about a heart that is attempting to convince itself that it truly does not know everything about everything.
So, why do we humans greatly lean towards the opposite, that is, to attempt to convince others, as well as ourselves, that we do in fact, know it all? Why, when questions appear that are well over our paygrade, instead of simply saying we don’t know and happily moving on, we resist the idea of intellectual defeat and boldly press on to either create the answer or pretend that we do have the answer? Many times in doing this, we lean on the idea of science to explain ourselves when there is no answer. Scientists speak with such prideful certainty of their current findings as indelible facts, that those grasping for answers where they have none, adopt those of modern science and call checkmate to their opponents. But the irony of science is that it is simply the current science of modern men. And modern men with limited current technology cannot find all the answers. In fact, just look at the last 250 years of scientific attempts to explain the universe and you will see it ever in flux according to modern man’s use of current technology. Yet the current technology of 1926 was not the current technology of 2026, leading science to claim facts that have today been debunked and corrected in their error. Yet this did not stop the scientists of 1926 in claiming they had found the definitive answers to the universe and thus sold them as such to whoever was buying.
King David’s son, Solomon, the wisest human that has ever graced the planet earth, penned an amazing book in Ecclesiastes. Or maybe we should call it more of a confession. You see, Solomon dedicated all of that God-gifted wisdom to years of hard work to draw out a tremendous conclusion about this life. Are you ready for it?
Life is hard and unfair. You don’t, and won’t, know everything, so stop trying to figure it all out on your own. Instead, love and be obedient to Almighty God that does know it all and has it all figured out. And then, when you get to this point of freedom in trusting God, work hard and enjoy the life He grants you.
So how is it some people get to that point of freedom in trusting God and truly adopt Solomon’s wisdom-infused life hack? How is it you can encounter some folks that are quick to admit they don’t have the answers and instead of anguishing over their supposed ignorance in front of another, they instead go merrily skipping down the street happy, joyous, and free? Well, allow me to introduce you to the newest lead character in our drama. Part curtains, cue the spotlight, and enter stage right…faith.
Our study verses above from Ecclesiastes chapter 8 are clear. Solomon applied all of his heart and his wisdom to attempt to understand this life, this world, and why things happen the way they do. And his conclusion was simple yet profound…men cannot and will not ever fully know the reasons that God does what He does. And friends, it is at this point that a fork in the road appears. Two roads diverging in a yellow wood. And everyone on this planet must choose to walk one of the two paths. One path, let us call it ‘self’, leads in the direction of those that are determined to know it all, find the answers to all, and to never give up on either. The hearts that travel the path of ‘self’ are destined to have a question mark for a heart all the days of their lives. They will never be satisfied until they have the answer they seek, and unfortunately, it will never come in their limited human intellect. God’s Word tells us clearly in Matthew 7:13-14, that many will find and choose to walk this path of ‘self.’ The other path we will call ‘faith.’ And unfortunately, God’s Word tells us in those same verses in Matthew, that very few will find, choose, and walk this path. So why will crowds flock to the path of ‘self’ and forgo the path of ‘faith?’ Because the path of faith is incredibly difficult. The path of ‘faith’ calls for one to forgo their pride, die to themselves, release their need to know, and simply trust God to guide them in His infinite wisdom.
Possibly the biggest question that has ever loomed over the heads of mankind revolves around the destination of a human soul after the physical body ceases. What happens to a person when they die? Well, just as our science example above, mankind in their need to offer an answer, even in their ignorance of the truth, has concocted a seemingly endless offering of answers to the question. You can be reincarnated and live again as an animal, the better you were, the better the animal. You can be reborn depending on the karma you earned or lost while alive. Or you can adopt the bipolar humanist approach, all people will automatically go to some heaven somewhere, or no one goes anywhere, they simply a the moment of physical death cease to exist in body, mind, and soul. Yet here is where that fork in the road above holds eternal ramifications. You see, only one of those paths leads to the truth. Only one path leads to the one and only creator God. And to tread this path you must possess faith that God is who He has revealed Himself to be in His Word and that He did send His only Son here to this planet to die, resurrect, and ascend back into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the father. Then you must possess faith to believe what you read in God’s Word about why God sent His only Son to complete all of this…to save and redeem sinners from the eternal death that sin brings.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
Two paths exist before every heart that beats upon this planet today. One path, ‘self’, sees hearts chasing after the wind, desperately attempting to decipher the riddle of this life and this world. And when they cannot, those hearts create their own answers to satisfy their own needs. And the other path, ‘faith’, invites simple, honest, humble hearts to admit the truth of who they are, who God is, and that they are sinners in need of a Savior, of which Jesus Christ is the only. (John 14:6)
Two paths, two destinations, one choice. I pray you choose the path of faith; I pray you choose Jesus Christ.
Blessings ~ Dan
“Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 TLB
“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.” Matthew 7:13-14 MES
“You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road that leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 ERV
