Ever wake up on Monday morning and have a hole in your stomach but can't quite seem to figure out why? Ever feel an ache or sadness....something like a void but can't pinpoint exactly what it is? Do you feel this way on other days of the week besides just Mondays?
I think that "void" & sadness is caused by feeling incomplete. It is a result of not being truly happy. How many of you can truly say that you are happy all around? In today's society we strive to find happiness in every area of our life. For instance, if we're not happy at our job we look for a new one...or we try to get a promotion or transfer or make more money, etc. If we don't like how we look we are constantly trying to lose weight, or eat healthier, exercise more, put on make-up, buy nice clothes, etc. What about family? You may be constantly trying to get approval from family members or strive to be accepted so you are always trying to improve or fix something. How about the car you drive? Do you wish you had a bigger, better, faster car? Or the house you live in...do you focus on improving your home and decorating it inside & out? What about money...do you stress about money...waste money and then stress because you've wasted it...always have a void because it's never enough?
I am sure that at least one of these situations is you today. I know I struggle with some of these as well. But as long as we focus on these types of things and as long as our energy goes into cultivating & prioritizing these things, we will always wake up with a void or feel that dose of internal sadness and incompleteness. Our human nature is to always want more.. we are hardly ever satisfied and we are surrounded by a culture that influences instant gratification as a positive thing. How have we drifted so far from what truly matters? Why do we spend so much time and energy on superficial things by trying to make ourselves feel better only to end up feeling worse?
Over the past months or so I too have felt a void...or a sadness & I couldn't figure out why. I have a good job, my husband and I are doing well..awesome family, great friends, decent health... Sure everyone has their problems, but from a logical point of view I had no reason to be feeling the way I was feeling. Then it hit me. The one thing that was missing from my life was a close relationship with God. Sure I go to church and try to live a good life, but I realized I wasn't spending as much time with God as I should be. Many people don't realize that time without God is the cause of their problems just as time with Him is the solution. The more time I spend praying and reading the Bible or reading godly material, the less often I feel this void and sadness.
You see, whether you want to believe it or not, this void is in your soul. It's not something that can be fixed by surface things or material things or even other people. It's something only God can cure and trust me he wants to cure you! He wants you to get to know him. It's similar to a relationship with your kids or your parents or your spouse...how else are you supposed to get to know someone unless you spend time with them? And that's exactly what He wants to do...spend time with you. Why is this so hard for us to do? Why is it so hard to set aside 5 minutes a day and pray? Are we that selfish that we can't set aside a couple minutes in our day to spend with the One who created us? He can fix our problems & change our perspective and give us the happiness we so desperately search for every day but we seem to be in denial that he is a solution. We are selfish with our time and thoughts, and we think that we can fix everything if we just try a little harder, or make a little more money, or get a better job, etc. I challenge you this week to take a chance and give this a try...set aside 5 minutes of time everyday to talk to God. Read a chapter in the Bible which will probably only take 5 minutes also. Do something to spend time with Him and see how he changes you from the inside-out. Are you willing to give this a try? Even if you already spend time with God maybe He's calling you to give a little more...
Wanna get rid of your emptiness & find real happiness.. you need to get God. If you are doubting any of this then ask yourself this question: What do you have to lose?
