Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 19th, aka National Certified Nurses Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

— Ecclesiastes 1:2

If I told you this verse was a good representation of the Bible, would you believe me?

Ecclesiastes 1:2 says:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

Now how could this verse be a good representation of the Bible? It literally says everything is meaningless.

But hear me out, this is why.

Because the Bible tells us that in our life we will feel like this, and we are told to bring it to God.

Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.”

And then 1 Peter 5:7 tells us what to do with that, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

And the Bible takes this even further.

There’s a whole book called Lamentations.

Lamenting means expressing sorrow, grief, or pain out loud to God.

Lamentations 3:19–20 shows this, “I remember my affliction… my soul is downcast within me.”

And Psalms is filled with this too.

Many of the Psalms are lament psalms, where the writer is openly struggling and crying out to God.

For example, Psalm 13:1 says, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”

So what’s actually happening in this verse?

Just a few verses later, it explains who is speaking and why.

Ecclesiastes 1:12–13 says, “I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem… I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.”

So this is Solomon, a king who had wisdom and the ability to experience everything, saying he studied and explored all of life.

Then in Ecclesiastes 1:14 he gives his conclusion, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun; all of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

So the point is this:

If you search for meaning in life on its own, like Solomon did, it can feel meaningless.

But if you search for meaning in God, it won’t feel meaningless.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: God, You are the source of all meaning and truth.

Confession: I try to find meaning without You. Forgive me.

Thanksgiving: Thank You that You care and give my life purpose.

Supplication: Help me find meaning in You, not the world.

In Jesus name, Amen

“Made To Love” by TobyMac

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See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God