Every person is born with a God-shaped hole in their heart. This is a human defect not solved by physical surgery but a spiritual procedure where God rescues us from our sinful state and places us into his eternal family. Until that happens, people try anything, and everything, to fill that spiritual hole. Solomon decided that he would build things.

Ecclesiastes 2:4-6
I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

Hoping to find something that would make life worth living, Solomon decides to occupy his mind and time with building projects. His “great works” included great houses. He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon, the Hall of Pillars, the Hall of the Throne, the Hall of Judgement, and his own luxurious palace. Check out 1 Kings 7 for the dimensions and splendor of these structures. 

Solomon built great cities. He constructed strategic cities in strategic places to keep Israel safe. He created cities to store his chariots and cities to store his horses. “Whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion,” he built (2 Chron. 8:1-8). 

Solomon built gardens, vineyards, orchards, forests, and all the water systems to service them (1 Kings 4:33). And, of course, he supervised the construction of one of the ancient world’s greatest achievements, Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5-6). 

But building things—buildings, businesses, or portfolios—can never fill the spiritual hole in the heart. Solomon described all his efforts as “a striving after wind.” He concluded that “there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11). 

Let’s go back to where we started—that God-shaped hole in our hearts. God has made us for himself, and we are never happy, satisfied, or fulfilled until we find Jesus. Only Jesus satisfies and fills us with his joy and contentment. Do you know him? Have you found him? Have you trusted in him? If not, follow along with me in this prayer. 

Father, I am tired of trying to get to you on my own. I fail every time. I am sorry for my efforts apart from you. I want Jesus to rescue me from my futile attempts and fill me with his presence and peace. Today I trust in Jesus alone as my rescuer. Amen.