10 The Purpose of Emptiness We may say - “I know what I like and I know my abilities.” So we put our faith in going our own way, but you and I don’t even know how long we will live. We may die today! Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. Ecclesiastes 8:7,8a (NIV84) When we go our own way, God subjects us to empty results, because He is trying to get our attention before it’s too late. We need to know God’s Way for our lives. We may have faith in our religious beliefs and in our ideas about life and death and life after death, but our beliefs and our ideas don’t change what God has determined. We need to know what God is saying. Life is short and God knows that you and I are not prepared to face death unless we listen to what He is saying. Nothing is more urgent than seeking God’s truth about death & eternity. Continuing to go your own way will not give you the lasting joy and fulfillment that we all long for, and you have no hope for the age to come. We cannot pre- pare for this life or the life to come unless we become good scientists carefully investigating all that God is saying! Since we don’t know the future, our decision must be based on faith. So the next important question of life is this: Do we put our faith in our ideas or Do we put our faith in what God says?