What if all your efforts to create happiness and meaning are actually driving them further away? In Ecclesiastes 2, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes hits rock bottom, confronting the stark truth: every attempt to create lasting meaning or happiness is fleeting, ultimately undone by the certainty of death. But it’s here, in this moment of despair, that he uncovers something extraordinary. He realizes he doesn’t have to strive to make his life meaningful—because meaning isn’t something we achieve; it’s something God gives. When the Teacher finally lets go of the need to control and define his life, his hands are open to receive life for what it truly is: a gift from God.