The God-Shaped Void: Why Our Hearts Long for Eternity

We continue meditating on eternity, and today we begin exploring the Millennium. It feels unlikely that our short life on Earth is all there is. When we look at atomic structures, the intricacies of life, and the universe through telescopes, it’s hard to believe any theory that denies our Creator’s existence. Some questions remain beyond scientific answers.

Eternity Written on the Human Heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

King Solomon, regarded as one of the wisest men ever, said:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon spoke of God's creative design by saying that our inner nature, our soul, is divinely imprinted with impressions of eternity. The French Bible translates the original Hebrew by saying that God has "set the thoughts of eternity in our hearts."

The Persistent Feeling That "Something is Missing"

King Charles of England once spoke about the inner emptiness of the human soul. He said, "For all the advantages of science, there remains deep in the soul a persistent and unconscious anxiety that something is missing." Speaking at a charity event, Princess Diana described "an overwhelming sense of loss and isolation that undermines many people's efforts to survive and cope with the complexities of modern life. They know," she stated, "that something is missing." Deep within, we experience a void in our inner being, our soul, until we encounter Christ. We attempt to fill this void with drugs, alcohol, sex, possessions, power, money, and prestige, but nothing truly satisfies us because this emptiness was built into us. As Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher and mathematician, stated, “Within each human being, there is a God-shaped void."

C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Desire

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote:

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably worldly pleasures were never meant to fulfill it, but only to arouse it and suggest the real thing.

The fifth-century philosopher Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are unquieted until they find their rest in Thee.” This missing piece is God Himself. He is the Living Water and the Bread of Life. He alone is the only one who can satisfy us.

The 1,000-Year Reign: Finding Rest in the Messiah

Haggai the prophet writes, “I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:7, emphasis added). The One desired by all nations, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus the Messiah, will come and stand on the Earth, and in our resurrection bodies, we shall see God. The Book of Job tells us:

²⁵"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the Earth. ²⁶"Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; ²⁷Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another” (Job 19:25-27).

The Second Coming of Christ and His presence on Earth will precede a glorious era of peace. In the coming days, we will explore what the Bible reveals about the thousand years of righteousness, joy, and peace under the reign of the King of Kings, Messiah Jesus. Keith Thomas

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Continue Your Journey…

This devotional is part of our series, Insights into Eternity. If you want to dive deeper into what God has planned for your future, continue to the next lesson: What the 1000 Year Reign of Christ Will Be Like