“This book is God’s reminder that if you are attempting to live the ‘meaningful’ secular life—’a life without absolutes, a life lived out of values without reference to God, a life that expects lasting satisfaction from earthbound things’ —you are attempting to grasp the unattainable. You are like a foolish child trying to catch the winds of a hurricane within the strands of a butterfly net.” —Douglas O’Donnell
Since God is the creator of all things, we must fear God and obey him in all things.
1. Reviewing What Solomon Wrote
2. Understanding Why Solomon Wrote What He Wrote
“A goad is one of the tools of a shepherd’s trade, a sharp stick that spurs a stubborn beast to keep moving. It is not designed to injure the animal, of course, but to inflict just enough pain to get his full cooperation!” —Philip Ryken
3. Applying What Solomon Wrote
“’Fear God’ is a call that puts us in our place, and all other fears, hopes and admiration in their place.” —Derek Kinder
“When one devotes one’s life to the Lord, the mundane march through this passing world becomes a dance of eternal significance. Yet it is not as though this world stops being cursed or becomes a substitute for the world to come. We remain in this fallen world eating, drinking, and working, but we do so to the glory of God and to the satisfaction of our souls.” —Douglas O’Donnell