Empty?
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Deuteronomy 8:3
Do you ever wake up feeling empty or void of something? Like your life is missing something or something within you is just not right? Is there an unfulfilled longing that you just can’t place? Let me ask you this, when was the last time you sat down with your Father and read His love letter to you?
Everyone is hungry for God because we were created that way. There are distractions and sins in this world that keep us from recognizing that longing within us. Sin entraps us and blinds us with things like success and wealth, fears and failures, and addictions and hurts that mask the hunger that we have for His word and fellowship. It can leave us feeling empty and lonely. Without Him present in our lives, we have no purpose. We remain hungry and empty as we try to fill ourselves by striving daily to please the people around us. Those efforts though, will only create a bigger void and will leave us feeling defeated and unsatisfied.
Only He can satisfy that hunger within us, that craving to please and make a difference. If we are trying to please the world or serve the world then our hearts’ greatest desire will never be satisfied. Our ministry is not that of pleasing people but that of serving. When we serve it is not for our own gain but is to be done through God's strength and power which brings Him honor and glory. When we act in that strength and power, we not only please our Maker, but we gain that ultimate and deep satisfaction that our soul longs for and can only be filled by Him.
"Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men,
for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
Psalm 107:8-9
When you wake up hungry and your heart desires something, pick up His word and fill your soul with what He has for you. Only then you will know the fullness from being filled by the Holy Spirit.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6
Deuteronomy 8:3
Do you ever wake up feeling empty or void of something? Like your life is missing something or something within you is just not right? Is there an unfulfilled longing that you just can’t place? Let me ask you this, when was the last time you sat down with your Father and read His love letter to you?
Everyone is hungry for God because we were created that way. There are distractions and sins in this world that keep us from recognizing that longing within us. Sin entraps us and blinds us with things like success and wealth, fears and failures, and addictions and hurts that mask the hunger that we have for His word and fellowship. It can leave us feeling empty and lonely. Without Him present in our lives, we have no purpose. We remain hungry and empty as we try to fill ourselves by striving daily to please the people around us. Those efforts though, will only create a bigger void and will leave us feeling defeated and unsatisfied.
Only He can satisfy that hunger within us, that craving to please and make a difference. If we are trying to please the world or serve the world then our hearts’ greatest desire will never be satisfied. Our ministry is not that of pleasing people but that of serving. When we serve it is not for our own gain but is to be done through God's strength and power which brings Him honor and glory. When we act in that strength and power, we not only please our Maker, but we gain that ultimate and deep satisfaction that our soul longs for and can only be filled by Him.
"Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men,
for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
Psalm 107:8-9
When you wake up hungry and your heart desires something, pick up His word and fill your soul with what He has for you. Only then you will know the fullness from being filled by the Holy Spirit.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6
Written by Nicole
This post is "right on" on so many levels....starting with CS Lewis' quotation on mankind throughout history trying to seek something other than right relationship with the Father.....We pursue relationships, career, wealth, power, positions of esteem, "stuff" (cars, houses, toys, etc) all trying to fill that void in our innermost being, that sense of purpose, that intimacy that can only come from communing with the One who created us and who knows what we have need of even before we ask......When we "substitute" - we put so much pressure on ourselves and others around us to fulfill this longing with things and people that will never replace that relationship with Him. The really wonderful thing is that when we "Seek ye first the Kingdon of God and His righteousness and and all these things will be added unto you" (Matt 6:33) - THEN all the other "things that are added" become secondary and simply don't mean quite as much.....which, of course; is a great thing as this is the Holy Spirit's way of prioritizing our lives for us when we put our relationship with the Father FIRST......This runs completely counter to the "It's all about me" worldy culture we live in. As "salt and light" Christians, we can and may still have the nice cars, the designer clothes, the dream home, the career, wealth, the "perfect" spouse, the "perfect" church - but we don't NEED them to be spiritually content....and we sure as heck can't make a prosperity doctrine out of this "stuff"...... "the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace".......God bless you, your family and your ministry.
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