Searching

We, as human beings, have something unique about us. There is a ceaseless need in every one of us for something more. We develop imaginary friends. We daydream constantly. We investigate the mysterious and unexplainable. We dream and set goals, and when we reach those goals, we set new ones. There’s always something “extra” that we involve ourselves in and it’s that pursuit of “extra” that really separates us from the animals. We’re not animals. We are much more that has, instilled in our very being, a need for something greater. When we lose sight of something, when we lack direction, when we’ve become stagnant, when we’re unhappy with our situation even though we achieve our goals, then we panic. We become frustrated with why we’re not content. We start to say to ourselves, “Is this it? Is this as good as life gets?” And so we search. We occupy our lives in the pursuit of education, career advances, and relationships in the hope to fill the void of dissatisfaction. We tell ourselves, “If I only had _____ then I’d be happy.” But not all millionaires are happy. Not everyone who is successful is happy. Not everyone who has a family is happy. Not everyone who is single is happy. Everyone has this need for something extra, something greater. Sometimes, we try to get answers by looking up into space and saying, “There has to be something out there. There has to be something more.” Well the truth is there is something more, we’re just looking in the wrong place. We were never created to be satisfied with what this earth could provide. In other words, our need cannot be met by anything we do on this earth. That’s because we were not created as physical being having a spiritual experience but as spiritual beings having a physical experience. This goes back to the very beginning, how we were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). First of all, God isn’t physical. He is thought, mind. So being created in His image means having conscience, a moral understanding of right and wrong. Being spiritual beings, we cannot be satisfied fully with what this physical world can provide. This amazing world is too big for us, yet its satisfactions are too small. We were made with eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and because of that, the things bound by time cannot fully and permanently satisfy us. The sooner we can realize and believe that, the sooner we can start developing our spiritual selves and satisfying our needs. And there’s only one thing that could satisfy our spiritual need, and that’s fellowship, or partnership, with the Father, the Almighty God. When we establish that relationship with God, He then gives us real hope in an eternal destination meant for the purest of spiritual beings…heaven. That’s where our focus should be. That’s where our goals should lead us to. That the place we were meant to be. The trick is, in order to get there, you have to believe it. You have to trust in God’s directions on how to get there. You have to be willing to change and give up your physical desires that get in the way. The truth is, it’s hard. The way is tough (Matthew 7:13, 14). Many people will give up and not make it. Instead of conforming themselves to the Word of God, they conform the Word of God to themselves, that way they can have hope in heaven while still living for worldly pleasures. That’s not what God wants. God wants fighters, not quitters. God wants people who trust that He knows more about the way than any man’s opinion. God wants people of faith. So let us set our sight, our focus, our priority, and our commitment on the right place, “as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2Corinthians 4:18).