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Raised in a Christian household, I loved and followed God with all my heart throughout my childhood and teenage years.

During college, however, as I traveled to foreign countries and befriended people of other faiths who had just as much confidence in and commitment to their faith as I did mine, confusion crept in.

In a state of doubt and puzzlement, I stopped walking with God. I abandoned my faith altogether. Without my faith, which acted as both the foundation and cornerstone of my life, life lost meaning. Devoid of hope in something greater than myself, my life seemed utterly meaningless.

What was it all for? I wondered. Although I turned to anything and everything to find fulfillment, I remained empty.

Written by King Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes at times seems like the babbling of an incredibly pessimistic individual as he claims everything from wisdom to folly and pleasure to toil is utterly meaningless. As he observes evil people prospering and good people suffering, he grapples to make sense of it all. Only in the final verses does he draw meaning from a confusing world.

Continuing to hunger for fulfillment in my mid-twenties, I returned to my faith. Admitting to God that I still harbored confusion and doubt, I found God met me where I was. Although my confusion didn’t magically disappear—and some of my unanswered questions remained unanswered—life had meaning again. I was living for something greater than myself.

God has set eternity in our hearts. We all yearn for something greater—something eternal. Without God, Solomon is right. Our hunger will never be satisfied, and life becomes meaningless. Only in turning to Him will our thirst be quenched, and our lives infused with purpose and meaning.

Does life feel empty? Are you hungering for purpose? Present those feelings to God. He will meet you where you are and welcome you with open arms. 

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)