Today we have a guest devotion from my friend Cory Woodard at The Poking Stick Network. Make sure to check out his Instagram, @thepokingsticknetwork, and give him a follow, without further ado, enjoy!

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 

Ecclesiastes 1:14

What a real pick me up, right? Trust me, it gets better. To translate, the passage I just shared is, indeed, saying that everything we do is vanity – like chasing the wind. Jesus gives us some insight here when He says that the wind goes where it wishes and you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes (John 3:8). Awesome. While I’m at it, let’s talk about everything we do being vanity.

The word vanity (הֶבֶל hebel) is directly linked to a specific figure in the Bible – none other than Abel (Genesis 4). If you remember, Abel’s life is characterized by the fact that it was cut short. So when Solomon (The author of Ecclesiastes) lets the reader know that life is vanity, there is a word picture happening. In the grand scheme of things, all of our lives are like Abel’s – a vapor passing by (James 4:14).

There you have it – life is short and feels like trying to catch the wind with your bare hands. So what’s the point? Do we really need to remind ourselves of the brevity and finitude of life? Probably not – especially since this fallen world reminds us more often than not. What I want to remember is that even though my life is a vapor that feels like chasing the wind, I am in the company of the one who commands the wind – and the wind obeys. 

And he [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 

Mark 4:39

As a Christian, I don’t have to shy away from the fact that life on earth is painful. My hope isn’t in what this world can offer me, but rather the One who is beyond this world. I’ll close with a quote from C.S. Lewis.

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

– C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)