Teaching Devotional

Weekly Devotional

Need help studying the Bible? Don’t know where to start or what to study next?
Join us right here every week for a weekly devotional based off of Sunday’s teaching.
Every week we’ll update this content so you can jump deeper into God’s Word.

MONDAY:

The Futility of Life Without God

Life under the sun, apart from God, is described as a profound enigma. It is a glitch that cannot be solved, a reality where our best efforts and deepest longings ultimately feel meaningless. This perspective confronts the modern desire for control and safety, stripping away all illusions of self-importance. It is a sobering but necessary starting point for true wisdom, forcing us to look beyond ourselves for answers. Without an eternal reference point, our lives and accomplishments are like a footprint washed away by a wave.

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?”
Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 (ESV)

Reflection: Where in your own life have you experienced the feeling that your hard work or good intentions ultimately led to nothing of lasting significance? How does that feeling point to a deeper longing for something eternal?

TUESDAY:

The Illusion of Control and Safety

We live in a culture obsessed with engineering predictability and eliminating risk, from our physical safety to the very beginnings and endings of life. This drive for control is a central theme of modernity, promising security but often leading to greater anxiety when life inevitably resists our efforts. The world is not a predictable machine we can dominate, and our attempts to make it so can have sinister consequences. True strength is not found in building a perfect, safe bubble but in learning to navigate an unpredictable world with faith.

“I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one area where you are currently striving to maintain absolute control or guarantee a specific outcome? What might it look like to release that burden and trust in God’s sovereignty instead?

WEDNESDAY:

The Honest Questions of a Seeking Heart

This wisdom literature does not shy away from the hardest questions of human existence. It courageously engages with the reality of injustice, suffering, and the apparent randomness of life, where the wicked sometimes prosper and the righteous suffer. It invites us to bring our full, unfiltered doubts and disappointments into the light rather than hiding them behind platitudes. This honest confrontation is not a lack of faith but a necessary step toward a faith that is robust and real.

“There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 8:14 (ESV)

Reflection: When have you witnessed or experienced a situation that felt profoundly unfair, where good was not rewarded or evil was not punished? How did that experience challenge or shape your understanding of God’s justice?

THURSDAY:

The Limits of Wealth, Wisdom, and Pleasure

The Preacher had access to every resource imaginable—unfathomable wealth, unparalleled wisdom, and limitless pleasure. He pursued every avenue of human achievement and indulgence to its absolute end. His conclusion is that these things, in and of themselves, are ultimately not enough to satisfy the human soul. They are temporary and cannot answer our deepest need for purpose and connection. This is a stark warning against believing any earthly pursuit can be the final answer to our longing.

“I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.’ But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, ‘It is mad,’ and of pleasure, ‘What use is it?’”
Ecclesiastes 2:1-2 (ESV)

Reflection: Which of these three areas—the pursuit of success/wealth, the pursuit of knowledge, or the pursuit of pleasure—most often tempts you to believe it will finally bring you contentment? In what practical way can you acknowledge its limits this week?

FRIDAY:

Our Longing Points to a Greater Reality

The very frustration we feel with life’s meaninglessness is itself a signpost. Our weariness with the world’s imperfections and our deep desire for justice, purpose, and permanence are clues that we were made for more. This present world, with all its hevel, is the shadowlands. Our souls ache for the real world to come, where Christ Himself will make all things new and set everything right. This hope reorients our present living, infusing our temporary struggles with eternal significance.

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
Revelation 21:5 (ESV)

Reflection: How does the promise that God will one day make all things new change the way you view a current difficulty or frustration? What one thing can you do today to live in light of that coming reality?

TEACHING DETAILS:

DATE: March 1, 2026

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 1:1-3

SPEAKER: Matt Heverly