Empty Places

All of us have them or least used to have them. They are called “empty places” and they represent our deepest unmet needs and longings. Usually these empty places manifest themselves in unpleasant mannerisms such as a craving gone awry. They often appear as an insatiable need or desire such as craving too much food, too much attention, or even making unnecessary demands on people. In idle attempts we try to fill them with “things” or with “people.” However, those things cannot satisfy us longterm, and, therefore, we are stuck in a perpetual state of unsatisfaction.

I have previously experienced much failure in this area before I recognized that these empty places are not meant to be filled with anything or anyone but God. I’ve learned that only He can bring a deep satisfaction to my soul when I allow Him to fill my empty places. I have wasted many years in frustration and anger expecting something else or some one else to fill my cup. Thankfully, I have found that only Jesus can do that.

The interesting thing is that even though we may be a Christian, salvation does not equal satisfaction. I think that may explain why there are many Christians today who are living unhappy, unfulfilled, and unproductive lives. They may even wonder what is wrong with them and why they are not satisfied in the Christian life. While salvation is certainly a gift from God, we can only find satisfaction in Him as we daily and deliberately surrender all parts of our lives to Him. The first step to changing our dissatisfaction is in recognizing that we are still empty. Christ desires that all of His children find satisfaction and fullness in Him. It is not reserved for an elect few.

Satan desires to deceive Christians into believing that once they are saved there is really nothing else they have to do. This is truly a deception. Living a Spirit-filled life is the key to living a liberated and joyful life. However, it does require our participation. In essence, we must do a little something. It requires seeking after God with all of our hearts and pursuing a love relationship with Him. Moreover, it requires allowing the love of God to fully penetrate all areas of our lives as we surrender to Him in loving obedience. Interestingly, if we hold back certain areas of our lives from Him, those are the very areas where we will not be liberated. Simply put, if we do not have freedom in a particular area of your life, it is because we have not given Christ authority over it. Freedom flows where the Spirit of the Lord flows, and we often resist giving God full control over certain parts of lives. Then we wonder why we aren’t satisfied! As believers in Christ, even though the Spirit of the Lord is always in us, He can only flood the parts of our lives where we give Him full authority. So, the second step in filling our empty places is to withhold no part of our lives from His authority. Surrender. Let go and let God do what only He can do. Joyce Meyers once said, “Do all that you can do, and then let God do what you can’t do.”

I believe the third and most important step in filling our empty places is to come to the full realization of how incredibly much God loves us. Ephesians 3:17 tells us to be “rooted and established in love.” A tree is only as strong as its roots are deep. Likewise, the deeper our roots are in God, the more we will be able to withstand the trials and difficulties of life. Because God is love, He cannot make a decision for our lives that lies outside of His love for us. Yes, this includes difficulties too, which He often allows in order to grow us in character and perseverance. Jesus eagerly longs for us to know the depth of His immense love that surpasses all human understanding. We will only be able to fully grasp it as we get this power from His Spirit. Because His Spirit lives in us, we can grab hold of this power as we give all authority of our lives to Him.

Ask yourself today if you have any of these “empty places” that only God can fill—hardships, injustices, loneliness, or other unmet needs. I’m convinced that one of our greatest desires of all is to be loved unconditionally, and God alone can offer us this unfailing love. No matter what we do, He cannot help but love us for God Is Love. He wants to flood our lives with His love, but the fullness of God is not a one-time occurrence like salvation is. We must come to Him daily, confess our sins, pour out our hearts, acknowledge our empty places, and then invite Him to fill us. And remember--when we do our part to draw near to Him, He will come running to us. He’s waiting to fill all of our empty places with His lavish love. The question is, “Will we come to Him?”

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. 1 John 4:16

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!...Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. Isaiah 55:1-3

Thirsty, anyone?

I admit I have been guilty. Guilty of drinking from the well to satisfy my thirst--guilty of trying to do things my way, in my time, and in my strength. Is it any wonder I end up dry and parched and thirstier than ever? Why is it that we always drink from our own wells? We attempt do things for ourselves without even giving a thought to asking God for his insight and help? I know we are taught early on to be independent, but by leaving God out of the equation we only set ourselves up for failure. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows that we can either stumble along on our own or we can soar with Him.

God gives each one of us a personal invitation. An invitation to come to Him. "Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fair." Isaiah 55:1-2

What God is offering is not temporary…it is free nourishment for our soul and it is eternal. Everything else in life satisfies for such a short time. Food tastes delicious at the moment but as soon as it is devoured its taste fades. Money buys material possessions, but once we have them, they no longer satisfy and we crave more. Vacations are great fun, but quickly fade to distant memories. Only a growing relationship with God can give us the nourishment for our soul that sustains and empowers us. We need the Living Water that flows from the throne of God. This Living Water is Jesus.

In Jeremiah 2:13 the Lord says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Remember the story of the woman at the well. She came to draw water from a well and met Jesus. He told her “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13

We are to thirst after God as we thirst after water. Jesus alone is the Messiah who can give us this gift that satisfies the soul’s desire. And it is not a one-time event. It is a moment-by-moment way of life. Furthermore, if we are to give back to others, we absolutely must be filled with God’s Spirit—filled with the Living Water, or we will simply not have anything worthwhile to give. How can we possibly encourage, inspire, or pour anything into the precious life of another human being if we have not been filled with the Living Water ourselves? We simply cannot give that which we have not yet received ourselves.

God gives us the choice from where to drink? We can drink from the well of our own cisterns or we can drink from the Living Water and never thirst again. I have a suggestion…why don’t we fill our empty vessels with Living Water. That God-shaped void in our lives simply cannot be satisfied with a career, money, a beautiful home, or even other people. It is designed to be filled with Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be thirsty again. I chose the Living Water.

"If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37