Finding Joy in the Meaningless

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading titled, Finding Joy in the Meaningless, was written by Marvin Williams. In 2010, James Ward, the creator of the blog, I Like Boring Things, launched a conference called, The Boring Conference. It's a one-day celebration of the mundane, the ordinary, and the overlooked. In the past, speakers have addressed seemingly meaningless topics like sneezing, sounds that vending machines make, and inkjet printers of 1999.

Ward knows the topics may be boring, but the speakers can take a mundane subject and make it interesting, meaningful, and even joyful. Several millennia ago, Solomon, the wisest of kings, launched his own search for joy in the meaningless and mundane. He pursued work, bought flocks, built wealth, acquired singers, and constructed buildings.

Some of these pursuits were honorable, and some were not. Ultimately, in his pursuit of meaning, the king found nothing but boredom. Solomon maintained a worldview that didn't press beyond the limits of human experience to include God. Ultimately, however, he realized that he'd find joy in the mundane only when he remembered and worshiped God. When we find ourselves in the whirlwind of tedium, let's launch our own daily mini-conference as we remember our creator, the God who fills the mundane with meaning. As we remember and worship Him, we'll find wonder in the ordinary, gratitude in the mundane, and joy in the seemingly meaningless things of life.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, verses 1-11. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces.

I acquired male and female singers and a harem as well, the delights of a man's heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this, my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired.

I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Nothing was gained under the sun. Now let's pray. Father in heaven, our day-to-day lives can be filled with mundane, routine tasks, and in time, we can become restless and lose our appreciation for simplicity. May we find joy and contentment even in the habitual. Take the unremarkable moments of our lives and infuse them with your meaning, your joy, and wonder. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.