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Wednesday—April 17 • Why is Man Frustrated? For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:20
When the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was written, the translators chose Paul’s Greek word for “frustration” to render Solomon’s “meaningless.” Paul’s frustration and Solomon’s meaningless are one and the same! Paul continued, “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it [God].” Remarkable! Paul and Solomon agree that God is the cause of vanity, meaninglessness, and frustration! Well, why would God do such a thing? “In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God”
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(Romans 8:20, 21). In other words, God does it for our own good, because He knows that if you and I could glean any meaning in any worldly pursuit apart from Him—we’d take it! Doesn’t your own history confirm it? Solomon is intent on demolishing even the possibility of finding any meaning apart from God. He wants us to see this: Apart from God, life has no meaning. ALM 50 How closely have your dreams and ambitions been linked to God? Daily Reading: Joshua 15:1–63, Luke 18:18–43, Psalm 86:1–17, Proverbs 13:9–10
Thursday—April 18 • The Sovereignty of God I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. Ecclesiastes 3:14
Perhaps the biggest paradox of Christianity is this: How can God be sovereign and man have free will at the same time? It seems like a logical inconsistency. Here’s one of the biggest ideas of the entire Bible: God uses futility as His chief tool to draw us to Himself of our own free will. In other words, God makes us feel the weight of futility in every worldly pursuit— getting the big promotion, making the big bucks, living in the big house, or getting none of those things. He makes us so miserable through futility that we choose Him of our own will. He removes any possibility of meaning except in Him.
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Here’s what Solomon says: “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will fear him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). How does God use futility? God will not force you to revere Him, but He will make it impossible to be happy unless you do. ALM 50 How has God made it impossible for you to be happy apart from Him? How do you see this in the lives of other men? Daily Reading: Joshua 16:1–18:28, Luke 19:1–27, Psalm 87:1–7, Proverbs 13:11