When Our Souls Crave Heaven

Do you have a haven? A favorite refuge that seems like a slice of heaven on earth? I have several. On a daily basis, it’s the chair in my office where I curl up every morning with my Bible, my Maltese JJ and a hot cup of coffee (or two, or three). In the evening, it’s the sitting area in our master bedroom, where my husband James and I tuck ourselves after the cares of our day to unwind and hang out. Periodically, it’s the beach, lounging with a good book, sunshine and the waves lapping the shore as all stress pours out to sea with the tides.But even the best slice of heaven I think I can experience here on earth is really just a shadow of our true haven, which is heaven. Do you see what’s missing in our havens here on earth? The e. Eternity.Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”God has put eternity in our hearts. We are created for an eternal purpose, and every heart longs for eternity – something beyond ourselves and beyond this earth. Beyond even the best earth has to offer. And God is the only one who can satisfy our eternal longings. When He does – when He saves us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ – He satisfies the eternal longing He’s put in our hearts for Him. And so heaven is our haven, even as we have havens on earth that help us rest and recharge until we reach that eternal place with Him.Perhaps a haven, then, is just heaven without the eternal aspect of true rest and salvation for our souls.Regardless of the haven, it can never rival heaven.Check out the rest of the posts on "haven" at Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday linkup!