If you’ve ever read through Ecclesiastes, you may have walked away wondering: What’s the point of it all?
Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived—painstakingly records his search for meaning under the sun. He tries wealth, pleasure, work, knowledge, and even wisdom itself, only to conclude that all is HEVEL (Hebrew for “vapor,” “vanity,” or “meaningless”). His relentless honesty reveals the emptiness of life when it’s lived apart from God.
But hidden within Ecclesiastes is a whisper, a clue, a redirection: "Remember your Creator" (Eccl. 12:1). In the end, Solomon affirms, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).
That’s where Proverbs 3:5–6 comes in—not as a contradiction, but as a culmination. It is the answer to the search Ecclesiastes describes.
Solomon wrote both.
In Proverbs, he gives us the key to avoid a life of chasing the wind:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart” – not some of it. All of it.
“Do not lean on your own understanding” – the very understanding that Ecclesiastes shows us is insufficient.
- “In all your ways acknowledge Him” – because apart from Him, nothing has lasting meaning.
- “And He will direct your paths” – straight into purpose, joy, and eternal perspective.
Ecclesiastes is a warning!
Proverbs 3:5-6 is the way forward.
Where one reveals the problem of self-reliance, the other reveals the solution; of surrender. One shows us the futility of wisdom without God; the other teaches us the fruit of wisdom with God.
But when we come to trust the Lord fully and let go of the illusion of control, we begin to walk in the fullness of His guidance, provision, and care.
That’s not meaningless. That’s eternal.
