Empty Inside
6/28/20
For most of the western world, beauty and the outside appearance is the most important feature one craves, for it identifies us in each respective society and it proclaims where our hearts are located. It does not matter what our inner being says or cares about, just has the perfect subject matter of the day covered and all shall be okay. How empty of a person or group do we have to be before we fall and break apart? The world shall never care about what your inner heart beats for, it only wants lip service so it can pass its agenda onto the next person it comes in contact with. God has a better life for you and one that is so deep and personal that all things will be known to those who seek His name. It is this inner fulfillment that God intended for us to have and is the sole reason He Created us, for the advancement of His Kingdom, not sin. Living empty one shall have no joy or peace for it is contrary to God’s ordained condition He has for us and according to the New Testament the Church has fallen right into line with this philosophy too; the day shall come that we will have to stand and account for our lives, will they be empty or full?
On most days, I try and take my lunch to work. Not because the food at the cafeteria is bad or anything but because I know exactly how much sugar my family uses in their food preparations and since I am a diabetic I want this level to be controlled as much as possible. So, of course, we have leftovers which serve my purpose for lunch the next few days quite well. The other day I was in the process of preparing my lunch and I grabbed a small round container from the counter. I have often used this small container because it is small enough to put in my lunch box plus it is a sturdy container that does not look worn out or well used yet is light enough not to become a heavy burden when toting the lunch box around. I sure do not want anything to leak out during the time I close my lunch box until the time I open it for lunch, so the sturdiness characteristic is a must; a perfect fit. So I had the small empty container sitting on the table next to my empty lunch box and I began to fill my lunch box with the next day’s dried foods. I had to pick up the lunch box and reposition it because I had found out that I had placed it close enough to the edge of the table that if I filled it too much that it would fall off the table and make a mess on the floor, then I would have to explain to Bonnie why food was all over the floor. I picked up the lunch box and the handle barely brushed up against the empty container sitting beside it and when it did the container toppled over and took two complete rotations on the table before it finally came to rest.
The Lord immediately showed me the content of this article and the reasoning behind it because in the end, it is not the importance of what our outside appearances may look like, it is the content within our lives that make all the difference when trials and tricks come our way. There was nothing wrong with either the container or the lunch box as long as neither one moved or bumped by the other. But when the handle just touched the container going in an upward motion, the weight of the container was no match for the adverse treatment. What was so fascinating to me was that as stated before, it was not a hard blow or a forceful one at all, but one that literally barely touched the container that toppled it on its lid. An important lesson about how the world tells us to live versus how God and His Living Word shows us how to live, this example God is giving us today for God understands that if you have nothing inside your heart it is ripe for toppling when the world decides to come knocking. The result of this simple example would have been totally different if that small container had some subsistence within its confines, it would have stood the test without any issues, but its superficial existence could not withstand the simplest challenge.
John 4:9-14
“Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samarians. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou this living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
For the most part, many of us understand this passage of Scripture is one of redemption and restoration between ethnic lines, while both were related to each other they continued the resentment and hatred for each other due to the cultural establishment of their races. But here we have another beautiful testimony of recognition by God concerning what flows within our lives, or in this case does not flow within our lives. This example that is given to us tells us that God sees way deeper than what the physical eye does and is far more concerned about what is inside our lives instead of the outside. There are so many people walking around on this earth that may seem to have it all together by their physical appearance but in truth they are empty shells for nothing eternal or everlasting resides within their hearts and this illuminating vessel promotes effortless gains through an empty content of life. This is actually a power stance from the world for it likes your surface to be fulfilled and as long as it stands in accord with the world your true inner life shall be empty and meaningless; the perfect stance for Satan and his cronies ready for your thieving and destruction.
The world and its leader shall take what might seem to be a minute detail of difference and over time grow this difference into one of the most hurtful and dangerous pieces of division that destroy hearts not only from the past, but for the present and the future altogether. The well that the woman and Jesus shared came from a common seed, and if you notice in this passage when the woman addresses this fact Jesus does not argue this point with her, for He knew it was true. The woman also addresses the point that she was amazed that Jesus actually talked to her or even looked at her for that matter, because the small detail of disobedience generations before was still evident on both sides of the divisional lines. But Jesus had a point to deliver to the woman, one of Truth about our inner lives, not just hers or even alone in her family and that point was that if people live for just the outside or the superficial they will be easily blown over when trials and tribulations come their way. Also, Jesus does not leave the woman hanging there without an answer either; He tells her about her emptiness and then shows her how to be filled with a content that shall give her strength, not only for the present but for her future as well.
One cannot argue the fact that the world believes the more the merrier concept. According to this passage, the woman that Jesus talks with should have been filled with so much joy because she had five husbands and she was with another one as well. If you ask anyone who does not believe in the concept of holy matrimony and singleness means just that on all levels, then they will laugh at you when you suggest that more than one sexual partner is detrimental. But what they do not understand is that is when this type of activity occurs, it leaves you empty when that partner leaves or disappears unnaturally or for any other worldly reason imaginable. Jesus recognized this woman was empty inside and needed God in her life as the foundation and not the physicality of the world. This is the world’s result and it shall fight for its control over territory that it already possesses because we all know the world loves a dry and dusty heart condition.
Scripture tells us that this earth shall pass away, which means it has no eternal placement within God, nor should it with us either. The world is superficial and while it may be fun and exciting for the moment all worldly activities take a huge toll on our lives by draining us of what we need the most, truth. Jesus always proclaimed and preached Truth according to His Father and His definition, He came to fulfill the Word and to be the example that everyone needs to have in order to be filled with the eternal content that defeats all troubles. However, just as in the days when Jesus walked the earth, today we have accepted the lies of the world so much and have ingrained these lies deep within us so far down that we do not even see how vital that the message of Jesus and Salvation is to our lives. It is for this deepened content of the world that we harbor within that makes us believe that Jesus was a pushover and while living a good life, His presence meant nothing more making His message another obstacle that we do not need. See, that is what the Jewish society did with the Samaritans, they did not want to deal with their definition so they pushed them aside through added details they believed they had no time for; boy, look how much we have learned and incorporated that concept into our lives today. Many see God and His Son as nothing more than a fairy tale which again proves that these precious people can only comprehend the superficial and not the sincere and deep truth; it is tough to heal when the space meant for Truth is blocked and log jammed with superficial ineptness of a defeated ruler.
Over and over, the Bible states that we have a purpose for our existence and since this repeated statement always comes from the heart of God, this purpose of ours is not superficial or empty. We have fallen for the lie that we can just survive this world with our head down and mouths shut long enough to hope that our opinions stay off the radar and live according to this principle. While we are “accomplishing” this task of ours, we fail to recognize just how this attitude and presentation is an abomination to our existence, God Creates everything in purity and fullness of His definition which means it cannot stand still or be idle on any level; overflowing if you wish to see it in this light. When a container is full yet more contents are being introduced into its area, it has no choice but to overflow when the capacity is reached, this is how God operates and we all know what scenario occurs when we overfill a cup or container with what we are wanting inside that container. Jesus reiterates this Truth through the words, He uses when addressing the woman concerning the water and how if mankind continues to search for this earthly or worldly water they shall always thirst for more but if they look to Him alone, He shall provide them with a source of living water (inside water) that will fill their containers to overflowing.
An angry person, group, or nation cannot represent anything else but emptiness. Their actions prove that they have no gifts of the Spirit inside them which means they are searching for physical water only for their survival. I am not leaving out any society or nation in this proclamation for it is God’s desire that all should live for eternity with Him and that no one should die in their sins (emptiness) and be separated from Him for eternity. Look at all the unhappiness that surrounds our lives today, this nation – the supposed greatest nation that ever existed – is enthralled with daily upheaval and violence through selfish wants from those who believe they have it bad. Worse, these people do not care about their actions either for they would rather be seen on a video across the world than to listen to other opinions that differ from theirs. Anger fills the streets around the world and I am sad to say that we have lowered ourselves into that quality of equality that Israel saw in 1 Samuel 9 onward. The praise for such violent reactions are appalling but what many do not realize is that our reactions and praises for such recorded events against others resemble the exact type of cheers we give at a sporting event or to sports figures when they “come through” at the end of a game.
So, what occurs to our inner beings after the protests are completed for the day and we jump into our vehicular transport systems and ride away? We have nothing to reflect upon except for the empty actions that we just spent our energy on for that specific period of time. In short, we are still empty and if the truth is known, we are even emptier if that is possible. So, we pout and spend an enormous amount of future time thinking of more ways to empty ourselves out even more through our superficial actions, all the while ignoring the real way to restore our strength and inside capacities. The passage for this article sums up the entire emptiness problem that we love to engage and to hold onto. The most frightening position we can take is to believe that we can survive and thrive off of superficial emptiness the world brings. We can NEVER forget that our container will dry up with emptiness at the same time we are asking ourselves about finding the truth to our existence. Our containers have a certain amount of space, which is why God’s Word tells us that we can be filled to overflowing; on the other side of things, we cannot EVER forget that if we are not filled then our emptiness is just as deep.
As each day passes, the level of emptiness within our lives become more evident and the problem with this type of growth is that we do not recognize this pattern at all. We are currently using up our resources in order to combat or in some cases protect our infrastructure and without even understanding what the true underlying source is. This is a futile response and only one that shall act like Swiss cheese, but with one minor change, when one purchases Swiss cheese from the store the holes in the cheese do not move or grow but the ones we have are. Interestingly, we have previously noticed that we have holes in our lives that need to be repaired, but deem other minor issues more important to try and fix while at the same time try to hold together the ever-growing larger bleeding holes with insufficient hands. This insufficient manner to which we try and fix our own holes comes at the price of others for this is when the blame game becomes evident and loud toward the “blamed” ones. This effort is the epitome of futility and defeat, the ultimate process that our enemy loves to see us hang from. This passage says that Jesus is the only Way possible to be filled; this passage is one of the few that eternally correctly uses the word “I”, for it was Jesus who used it.
Where is the Church during all of this emptiness being displayed not only in individuals but in our nation as well? She is too busy trying to stabilize herself in the balance between her relationship with the world and God. So, in other words, she too has become empty enough to begin to become anemic in God’s blessings. I have been a diabetic now for a little over a decade, and I have learned over this period of time that if I do not eat properly the foods that my body needs to survive or to function properly my energy and daily function are quickly drained. This state is not one that serves me any good it actually hurts my body and shortens my life. It is of the utmost importance that the Church remembers this Truth about God and His Ways for when we feed off the world and leave the Word of God out, our life drains quickly and we become useless to God and the perfect target for our enemy. When anything becomes weak, they become unstable and can be toppled over without hardly any effort. This is not how we were created to live or to believe in, we were made strong and courageous with the boldness that only comes from God Himself. Let us return to this state of our Creation and once again fill our lives with the Word of God and in no time we shall be overflowing with His Goodness again to the world’s Salvation.
The good news here is that we do not have to live in emptiness; there is a Way to fill our lives with everything we need to survive as each day arrives. However, unless we turn our hearts back to God and to choose Him instead of the ways of the world that we have harbored our lives shall continue to be broken just as the woman at the well was. Plus, if we continue to live in such a manner, we have to recognize that the issues of our worldly choices that have been made before us shall also continue to increase and become deeper in nature, which shall produce broader pain and agony. Jesus knew this woman was in pain due to the unsatisfied lifestyle she has incurred in her past; Jesus offered her eternal water to fill her emptiness. This is what we need to be sharing with others, and we will be doing this when we are full of Jesus’ living water for it shall overflow and pour out on anyone around us automatically. This is the True condition that we should be exemplifying to the world. Then, and only then, shall we be fulfilling the command that Jesus gave to us to go into the world and preach the Gospel, but we can only do this when we are filled with Jesus and His living water.
DLB
No comments:
Post a Comment