Life can take yet another twist, which prevents a person finding true satisfaction from earthly possessions. This evil, says Solomon, is not as rare as you might think, so that no one should assume that it is not going to happen to them.
We really have very little control of life and its numerous twists and turns. Unbelieving men and women can have a very naïve confidence about the future. They are sure that they can control events well enough to enjoy what they want in this life. It is within their power to secure this deal, to buy this house, to go and live in this pleasant retirement location, but all their calculations leave God out of the picture. Don’t they know that they are setting themselves up as his target by this hubris? He marks their overconfidence. Childlessness is for example a problem which thwarts a man’s plans for the future, and leaves him fretting over what might have been. If we really want to profit from life, we had better make peace with the one who deals out the providences of life to us. But of course, that means coming to Christ as Saviour and submitting to his Lordship over all our decisions.