Better (W1D4) Anxious Striving
Week 1. Thursday: Anxious Striving
PRAY: Ask God to speak to you from His Word.
READ: Ecclesiastes 2:17-23
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
UNDERSTAND: get a deeper understanding of the key words
Begin by underlining nouns with a single line, double underline verbs, and circle descriptive words.
Make a list of the key words/phrases and think about what they mean.
Snapshot: In this passage Solomon tell us that he hated his life. He discovered that our anxious striving to attain things that won’t last is meaningless. This leads to grief, anxiety, stress, and lack of sleep. Surely that’s not how God intended us to live.
Takeaway: A life of anxious striving is no life at all.
APPLY: What is this passage calling me to do?
In what ways are you anxiously striving in your life?
What could you change that would minimize anxiety and stress?
PRAY: Ask God to help you slow down and focus on what really matters in life.
