Thirsting for God.

Ecclesiastes. Wow, so much there. I read it 5-6 times this week and kept finding little things that were huge. But, for the blog I want to keep it simple, share the biggest lessons I took from it.

As I have pointed out in my previous blogs, this life is full of meaningless activities... the goal is to find God and develop a relationship with him. That leads to my first main lesson:
- Don't focus on earthly things, they are all meaningless compared to the relationship we are to develop with God. 1:8 ... No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. Also, this focus on earthly things leads to sin. 4:4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless - like chasing the wind.

- Solomon makes a point to compare wise men to fools but that we all end up with the same result, death. You can not escape it, no matter how smart you are or how many good deed you do, you will die some day. 2:14 For the wise can see where they are going but fools walk in the dark. Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.

- Enjoy life as if it a gift from God... because it is. He has given us the gift of life, to make choices, be with friends, raise families... but we also have to know that with the good does come the bad. Bad things can not be avoided. 9:12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy. So, enjoy the good while you have it. 5:18 ... it is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. Enjoy the good that you have. 6:9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have, just dreaming about nice this is meaningless - like chasing the wind.

- Fear God! Fear Him out of respect that he has given life to you and that one day you will have to answer to Him for you actions. Make choices out of the fear that He will notice your actions and hold you accountable for them. 8:13 The wicked will not prosper for they do not fear God. 11:9 ... Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

Ecclesiastes ends with this and it is how I will end my thoughts on this. 12:13-14... Fear God and obey his commands, for this is every ones's duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

So those are the main concepts are developed from this weeks reading, stop chasing the wind... I am still working on applying it to my life as it is hard to conduct yourself as though God is ALWAYS watching and knowing... but He is and one day He will call me on my actions here on earth and call me on my relationship with Him.

I'm not sure what book I will read next but if you have any suggestions on books that jump out at you let me know and we can read it together. Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you.