ecclesiastes cvr 2d

Depression, despair, and the divine: finding God in your pain

Like a great song or piece of art, Ecclesiastes speaks to the range of human experience and emotion, reminds us we’re not alone, and proves that wisdom can be found even in the darkest of places.

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What do you do when life hasn’t worked out like you thought it would?

Why do pleasure and privilege – the things we think should make us happy – so often come up empty?

Does life have meaning or is it a random accident where contentment eludes us and we all meet the same fate?

Ecclesiastes is an unexpected piece of Scripture that asks these questions with beautiful, brutal honesty and gives us permission to wrestle with our own existence – without prescribing easy answers or requiring that we arrive at an “approved” conclusion.

Like a great song or piece of art, Ecclesiastes speaks to the range of human experience and emotion, reminds us we’re not alone, and proves that wisdom can be found even in the darkest of places.


Come Alive: Ecclesiastes will help you navigate this poetic, perplexing, and profound book so you can:

  • See beyond your Western “how to” lens and approach Ecclesiastes like the work of art it is
  • Stop asking, “What am I supposed to do?” and start asking, “How do I feel?” when reading Scripture
  • Identify where Solomon’s musings reflect distorted thinking and where they reveal truth about God
  • Experience God as caring and empathetic, even in our struggles

The fact that God inspired a book written in the middle of depression and despair reveals His great love for us: He is secure enough for our questions and compassionately meets us in our pain.

Ultimately, Ecclesiastes leaves us with hope that there is a purpose to every season, that life has meaning beyond our passions and attachments, and that everything is made beautiful in its time.

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ecclesiastes cvr 3d 1

What Genre is Ecclesiastes?

Along with Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Song of Songs, it falls under the category of "Wisdom Literature," but that term doesn't really do it justice. It's part stream-of-consciousness lament, part poetry, part cultural analysis, and part personal tale of woe. Pile on all those descriptors, and I am going to label Ecclesiastes as a memoir of disillusionment that leads to a triumph of faith.

- Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.  As a teenager, he was the two-time Texas state champion in tennis for boys’ 18-and-under.  After graduating from high school in 1980, he attended Princeton University in Princeton, NJ, where he played varsity tennis for four years, served as team captain, and graduated with honors in English in 1984.

Talbot is a 1990 graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY.  In 32 years of full-time United Methodist ministry in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, he has served two appointments: Mt. Carmel-Midway (1990-1999) and Good Shepherd (1999-present). Since 1999, Good Shepherd’s average worship attendance has increased from 500 per Sunday to 2,000 per Sunday.  The church is known for its modern style of worship, ethnic and racial diversity, and radical impact projects. Prior to the Come Alive series, Talbot published six works, all with Abingdon Press: Head Scratchers, The Storm Before The Calm, The Shadow Of A Doubt, Solve, Crash Test Dummies, and Simplify The Message; Multiply The Impact.

Talbot has been married to Julie since 1984 and they have two adult children.

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Reviews

What people are saying...

Davis' work is engaging, deep and approachable.  An excellent study for those seeking to grow closer to Christ.

Rev. Dr. Leah Hidde-Gregory
Rev. Dr. Leah Hidde-Gregory
Global Methodist Elder, Chairwoman of the Transitional Leadership Council for the GMC

As a thoughtful theologian and a caring pastor, Talbot Davis loves and lives God’s Word. He wants others to love and live it as he does.

David Chadwick
David Chadwick
Pastor of Moments Of Hope Church & host of ‘The David Chadwick Show’ on WBT radio in Charlotte, NC

Talbot's insights into Scripture are fresh and relevant, drawing the reader closer to Christ.

Scott Standard
Scott Standard
Chief of Neurosurgery, Ascension St. Thomas, Nashville, TN

If you found the Bible confusing - perhaps you need someone like Talbot Davis to walk alongside you and explain the who, what, when, where, and why.

Jennifer Cabrera
Jennifer Cabrera
Editor, Alachua Chronicle

Davis pioneers a new genre to help others read Scripture well.

Carmen Joy Imes
Carmen Joy Imes
Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University

You love Jesus and you want to know more about God, but when you go to read the Bible, it’s a struggle. The world you encounter there is a world with a very different culture and very different values. It can be confusing, frustrating, and – let’s be honest – sometimes weird. Many Christians end up feeling like they’re not “getting anything out of it” or that what they were promised doesn’t line up with their lived experience.


But when we learn to approach the Bible in different way, we discover it’s far more interesting and richer than we ever imagined. Come Alive will help you:

Depression, despair, and the divine: finding God in your pain

Discover a new way to approach the Bible

It’s not about the takeaway, but trust and transformation. It’s not about “how to” but “Who” to which it points.

Depression, despair, and the divine: finding God in your pain

Learn to read the Bible “literarily”

Not as a how-to manual, a science textbook, or a self-help book (actually, it’s not a book at all), but as a library of books that capture a divinely-inspired a conversation between God and His people.

Depression, despair, and the divine: finding God in your pain

Watch God change your life

When you start your day in the Word, you’ll find you’re less focused on the times and more on the timeless, less on the urgent and more on the ultimate.

ecclesiastes cvr 2d

Find purpose in pain and meaning where you least expect it

Get cultural context, insights, and reading prompts that help you de-weird the Bible and understand how God is speaking into your life through Ecclesiastes today.

Order now