Empty Spaces, Empty Places

What got me thinking on this was something a friend said, regarding being single & dating. About filling your heart’s empty spaces with God first – and not with someone else.

Filling those empty spaces with His word and not looking to fill the emptiness in your heart with a relationship. Where you end up building that person into an idol, to worship above God.

Seek God first, and then the rest will fall into place.

I realize how important this is in a larger context, because we as human beings do we not like empty spaces.

We’ll fill it with pretty much anything we can that makes us feel less alone, less ’empty’. We’ll fill it with new purchases, with drugs & alcohol, sex, superficial relationships, etc.

Anything we think will fill that emptiness. And it’s always something we think we’re sure will satisfy us. And make us happy. And the biggest deception of all – that the happiness will last.

The thing is, we as humans will do anything to avoid emptiness. We avoid it for the simple fact that that’s where pain lives.

There’s always been a level of pain in emptiness. Always has, always will be.

It’s one of my favorite topics to write about. Seasons of pain, seasons of loneliness, seasons of separation. I’ve always written on what I know. I’ve learned through my life experiences that pain is the currency of progress. And what I’ve learned through my Salvation is there is also divine purpose in pain.

I can’t state that enough – there is God’s PURPOSE in your pain. I wrote a sermon with that title recently, exploring that concept from a standpoint of God. You can read it HERE

Pain. Isolation. Frustration. Condemnation… You ever feel like that when you are alone? I know I do, but I bet I’m not alone in feeling that, but I think that I am alone in feeling it…

Isolation is one of the Devils primary weapons against us.

There’s a great verse comes to my mind on this and really illustrates that point:

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (MATTHEW 4:1)

Notice It doesn’t say He was led into the market. Or He was led into the synagogue. He was led into a place where he would be vulnerable – into the wilderness, alone…

Empty, dark places are one of Satan’s favorite hangouts. Why? because he knows that in there, he’s got a captive audience, and he knows he’s got you at a time when you are weak.

If you think Satan looks like a charming Al Pacino like in the movie “The Devil’s Advocate” then you’re already one step into his grasp. I can promise you that as a human being alone you have no power to stand up against the devil. Its only through God’s protection and God’s intercession that the devil can be sent fleeing.

Be mindful of what else lurks in those empty places.

That is the time to be vigilant.

You can expect an attack from there, so have your armor of faith ready. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

If you’re thinking “I should just avoid those places all together.” Like driving by that street, the one with all the abandoned houses and no streetlights, graffiti everywhere and say no way I’m going down there, and you just keep driving. Well, you can’t…

You have to go down that road in life. We all must travel that lonely road at some point.

Because there’s something in there, in that emptiness that is so valuable its worth the pain & the discomfort you’re going to experience.

Believe it or not there is something we all need in emptiness.

Jesus himself knew this.

I’ll give you two examples from the Bible:

“Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (LUKE 5:16)

“It was very early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed.” (MARK 1:35)

Sometimes even Jesus had to be alone, with Jesus… (credit to Ps. Steven Furtick)

You need those empty places.

It’s where you go to build your foundation & strengthen your pillars of faith. Its where you go to discover yourself.

A place where you go to cut out all the noise and distraction of this world and realign yourself with your PURPOSE.

We all need to do that from time to time. Realign ourselves with who we are and what we believe in.

Here is also where you set your boundaries in the Lord’s word. And as a follower of Christ, you’ve got to have those boundaries. I can’t tell you how important it is in this life to be able to set against this world and those you let into your life, the defensive lines that you can’t and won’t allow to be crossed.

Because to do so compromises who you are and what you believe in. Boundaries are what guard your integrity

And that’s important, your integrity in life is everything.

What you let into your life should never ever, and I mean never compromise your integrity.

When you are receiving into your life the right things and the right people it will be those that not only love and support you but are willing to help you achieve your purpose. They may or may not share the same purpose as you, but they share the same integrity and have a willingness and a desire to help YOU achieve your purpose.

So, you have a choice. What do you want to fill your empty places with today?

Amen.