4.24.18 Praise & Prayer Prompt: When You Wonder, “What’s the Point?”

PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Have you ever felt empty?
Have you wondered, “What’s the point?”
Most everyone feels that way at some point or another.
But that’s not how God designed us to feel.
More on that in a minute.
When King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, he talked a lot about life and vain pursuits that have no meaning.
For example, in Ecclesiastes 1:2,8 NLT, he wrote, “‘Everything is meaningless,’ says the Teacher, ‘completely meaningless!’ Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.’”
Now, we’re all friends here, so I’m going to be honest.
I think the book of Ecclesiastes is fairly depressing.
I’m not a scholar or a theologian and since it was written by the wisest man who ever lived, I feel extremely under-qualified to try to get really deep here.
But let’s flip ahead to chapter 12.
After pages and pages of calling life meaningless, Solomon wrote, “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
These verses give me hope.
God is present, seeing everything we do and hearing everything we say.
Yes, I admit there were times that would terrify me.
But not so much anymore, because I understand His judgment isn’t designed to condemn those who have accepted Jesus.
And when we’re told to “fear God,” it doesn’t mean fear as in “shake with terror.”
It means to acknowledge His infinite power and greatness with the respect it deserves.
But when we go through the motions of life, feeling empty, and ponder, as Solomon did, “what’s the point?,” we need to read 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT, which say, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”
God does not want us to feel empty.
He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us in order to fill us with hope and give us an eternal future in Heaven.
And that love is designed to fill any empty space we’ve ever felt.
Seriously, how humbling is that?
We say it so much, it becomes routine and we take it for granted.
But sit for a moment and think about that.
God loves you so much, He thought you were worth the very life of His Son.
As a parent, I can’t say that I’d feel that way about anyone, that I’d let my son die for them.
It puts in small perspective the immeasurable love God pours out on us.
Because, my friends, if you were the only person who ever lived and breathed on this earth, Jesus would have still died for you.
If that doesn’t bring you to your knees in humble gratitude, I don’t know what will.
And with a love that profound given for you, how can we wonder, “what’s the point?”
The point is to share the Gospel with others!
The gift of salvation isn’t a gift we keep to ourselves.
Sharing it with others doesn’t diminish our portion.
Living life for Jesus is never a waste.
It’s never pointless.
And it’s the only way to fill the empty spaces.
Today, as you pray, thank God that He sent Jesus to die for us, so we could be saved.
Thank Him that life does have meaning—our purpose is to obey Him and share the love of Jesus with others.
Pray that you will embrace the truth and magnitude of God’s love and be willing to share it with others who need to fill their own empty spaces.