Eternity In Our Hearts

This morning I opened my Bible up and it opened to some very thought provoking verses from Ecclesiastes 3:10-14 NIV:

[10] "I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
[11] He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
[12] I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
[13] That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil---this is the gift of God.
[14] I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.
God does it so that people will fear him."

So starting at the bottom - the Hebrew word here translated fear would be more accurately translated to be in awe of, or to instill reverence. God's purpose is not to make us afraid of Him, but to instill in us a sense of how great He is compared to us. He is beyond comprehension, but that doesn't mean we should stop thinking about God.

There is perfection in God, and He has an eternal perspective. He views us and the world from outside of time and thus sees all, and He reigns over all. His Kingdom is over every other Kingdom (PS 103:19).

God's intentions for us all are that we may find joy, we may see beauty, we might find happiness and be satisfied. Part of that satisfaction is connecting to that piece of eternity He has placed in our hearts. That eternity is meant to draw us to Him. There is a sense of something bigger than us in all men. There is a desire to understand our place, our purpose and see how things work together in the greater world. We all have this longing and it is fulfilled through relationship with Him.

I remember when I stepped into relationship with Him, consciously choosing the Lord, how it felt like all of a sudden everything fell into place and made sense. I think it was that piece of eternity in my heart connecting up to the ultimate source of eternity, namely the Lord. It is within this relationship with Him that my perspective is changed and I understand my purpose, my place and how my life matters. It is in this relationship that I see the beauty that really is there in all things. I don't understand all the mystery, all the things of God, and no man can, but I can perceive His ways and see His will in action, discerning the flows of His purpose and plan taking place around me. It is a beautiful thing when I see God working in me, through me and around me.

So my encouragement today is to seek Him more, to open my eyes to His ways, and to enjoy that which He is doing and surrounding me with every day! He has given me great gifts and He enjoys it when I recognize that and am satisfied! He wants me to recognize that piece of eternity in me is meant to connect to Him, who lives in eternity!