So now we come to the final chapter.  Solomon has taken us on a journey.  He has pointed out the vanity of pursuing many things singularly to the neglect of others.  He has shown us the profit for work seldom actually satisfies.  He has told us that we long for eternity but live a few short years.  He has exhausted reason on why its better to be still born than to be under the oppression of others.  Finally we are ready for the answer.  And what is the answer?

Fear God and keep his commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  This is what it means to be human.  This is how to live a fulfilled life.  This is how you keep yourself from destroying yourself.  An old Hymn writer put it this way, “Trust and Obey, for their is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  It wasn’t our first thought.  It didn’t come to us naturally.  We enjoyed small pleasures so much we thought we would pursue pleasure but it never satisfied.  Then we sought wisdom, but that increased our grief.  Then we thought if we could just own stuff, but then we realized we have to give it away when we die.  So we moved on to being better at something than others, but then we realized we were letting life pass us by.

Application: Fear God and keep his commandments.  Have you tried it?  It really does bring a peace and happiness that outlasts the current situation.  You were made to know God.  Are you trusting him and obeying his council in your life today?