Monday, September 21, 2009
Chasing Rainbows
Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
—Ecclesiastes 4:4
One Saturday morning I was up very early because of jet lag, so I went out for a walk. Much to my delight, I saw a beautiful rainbow. I pulled out my phone to snap a quick picture, but the rainbow was barely visible in the photo. The further I walked, the more stunning the rainbow became, so I decided to go home and get my camera. But when I made it back to the spot where I saw the rainbow at its best, it was gone.
I thought, This is why people should not chase rainbows. It can be a metaphor for life. We chase after things that aren't quite there.
When we are young, we think, When I graduate from high school, then I will be complete. So we finally get out of high school, and we think, Now I have to get a job and actually make a living. I'd better get more education. So we further our education. Then we start our careers, and as we begin working, we hope to climb the ladder of success in our chosen profession. Then we start to think, Well, it is a relationship I need. I need to be married. And so we get married, and after awhile, we think, Kids are what I need. After the kids come along, we start dreaming about what it will be like when the kids are grown.
Life just goes on, and we find ourselves chasing rainbows. Then one day we wake up to discover there is more life behind us than there is ahead of us. So don't spend your life chasing after all the things this world has to offer, because you will never find fulfillment on this earth. You will only find it in a relationship with Christ.
Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
to listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com, click here.
SPECIAL OFFER
Hope for Hurting Hearts
In times of tragedies and trials, certain things become evident:
- This life will have its sorrows
- God loves us
- Jesus weeps in our times of pain
- God can be glorified through human suffering
Hope for Hurting Hearts, Pastor Greg Laurie's new book, examines these truths, revealing God's love and care for us, and shows how we can find hope, even in the midst of the most unbearable pain and sorrow.
You can have your own copy of Hope for Hurting Hearts by Greg Laurie in appreciation for your gift to Harvest Ministries this month.