Eternal Perspective : Elliott Cook
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMPC)
Did you know that you were born incomplete, with something missing? We were all born with a divine void on the inside of us, a void that we consciously and unconsciously attempt to fill throughout our lives. Some search their entire lives trying to find something that will satisfy this need, something that will give them peace, security, and a sense of purpose. Some try to fill this need with money, power, pleasure, and possessions. Yet these are all temporary fixes; they cannot offer a permanent solution. True peace and security cannot be found in something that can be taken away from you.
King Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes that he attempted to fill this void with all the luxuries the world could offer, only to find out that nothing could ever satisfy a place reserved only for the Creator Himself. Only filling that void with a constant pursuit of Him, and a life modeled after our Creator, will satisfy and give true peace, security, and purpose.
What are you allowing to take God’s reserved spot in your life? Could that be why you always feel like something is missing? If He’s not first place in your life, then you’ll finish last when the race is over. As quoted by St. Augustine, “You have made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” Nothing else will do…
Once we allow God and His Holy Spirit to fill this void, we can enjoy living life with an eternal perspective. We can live from the inside out, overcoming situations as we depend on the victory that has already been released on the inside of each and every one of His children. This is the amazing privilege His grace provides for us all. Once we view this temporary world and our temporary problems with the eternal perspective God can give us, we can enter into a peace that surpasses all understanding and logic. In this place, problems don’t defeat us; they prepare us for something bigger.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (TPT) says, We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison. This eternal perspective helps us to see that this temporary life is only a test, preparing us for our permanent destination, where we will be rewarded in Heaven for every act of love we demonstrate here on Earth.
How will you spend eternity? Counting your heavenly rewards, or missing all the stuff you couldn’t take with you anyway? Stay encouraged, Church, because there is SO much more to life than what you see right now.
