"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -- C.S. Lewis
There is such a deep longing to be satisfied, and naturally we attempt to fill that need with things in this world. Our natural world. That's just, well, natural. There are some needs that we have that can be met by this world. If I'm hungry, I can satisfy that need with lunch. If I am tired, I can satisfy that need with sleep. If I'm thirsty, water can replenish me. But the deeper part of us, the non-physical soul, simply cannot be satisfied by the things of this world, no matter how hard we try. Food always takes care of hunger, but it only numbs pain. Sleep restores energy, but it can't restore joy. Drugs, alcohol, they make you forget...until they wear off. Nothing in this world can truly satisfy our longing for meaning, for purpose, for love. Even the most wonderful spouse can never be all we need. Our children can't be our soul source of happiness because eventually they will grow up and not need our help all the time. Then where are we left? Empty.
If there are desires in my heart that this world can't meet, then my true nature, my soul, does not naturally belong here. My soul longs for another world. A place that satisfies all its needs. What better clue has God given us about who we really are? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has set eternity on the human heart. Somehow we know that we don't belong in a world full of pain. We realize that its just not right, but that somehow it should be. So we've always known that we need to be saved from this place. That savior is Jesus. And He is our source. The hope that we have a restoration in store for us is what gets us by while we are here. That hope, that peace, that confidence, its what gets us through. If I know that nothing here can truly make me completely happy, then I have no choice but to look to the One who can. And He will. Here is what He's promised us:
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you mayhave peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We will have trouble. But not forever. Someday He'll make it all right. Until then, let the longing be our reminder that our desires will eventually be met. And as we wait, we live as if we are already there. And when this world lets us down, we just press on toward our real Home. Eventually we'll get there.
