Life is filled with seasons of fullness and seasons of loss. It is during those times of loss, when voids and vacuums are created that we can be extremely vulnerable. Voids have to be filled. Vacuums, unless replaced with something else, will suck the old or the unhealthy right back in.
For instance, when we choose to diet, high calorie foods often have to go, and unfortunately, those are usually the foods we really like. If we don’t replace them with something else, a healthy but tasty option, or if we just allow ourselves to go hungry, we usually end up giving up on the diet completely and going back to our old eating patterns because we can’t sustain it.
Likewise, when a job ends, time sometimes weighs heavy on our hands until we fill that void with something that once again gives us a purpose. If a friend moves away or severs the relationship, the relational void needs to be filled or we find ourselves struggling. Even changing our thinking involves filling a void or if we don’t want the old unwanted thoughts to come rushing back in.
Some celebrities often talk about how if there hadn’t been an after-school program, or a teacher or coach, or a father or mother figure who stepped in to fill a void, they might have ended up living a very unhealthy life. Many of us could say the same.
Once again, the Bible speaks to this very real life issue of needing to fill voids in our thoughts and life and encourages us to fill them with things that are uplifting and provide real power.
Ephesians 5:8 says, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Colossians 1:9 finds Paul praying for the Colossians saying, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
And as we have looked at over the last few months, Philippians 4:8 reminds us to think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, for if we don’t fill our minds with these kinds of things, then lies and impure thoughts will come rushing in.
Whether or our own choosing or not, voids are inevitable. Loss is a part of life and often we have no choice in it, but we do have a choice on how we are going to fill the empty space created.
For instance, when we choose to diet, high calorie foods often have to go, and unfortunately, those are usually the foods we really like. If we don’t replace them with something else, a healthy but tasty option, or if we just allow ourselves to go hungry, we usually end up giving up on the diet completely and going back to our old eating patterns because we can’t sustain it.
Likewise, when a job ends, time sometimes weighs heavy on our hands until we fill that void with something that once again gives us a purpose. If a friend moves away or severs the relationship, the relational void needs to be filled or we find ourselves struggling. Even changing our thinking involves filling a void or if we don’t want the old unwanted thoughts to come rushing back in.
Some celebrities often talk about how if there hadn’t been an after-school program, or a teacher or coach, or a father or mother figure who stepped in to fill a void, they might have ended up living a very unhealthy life. Many of us could say the same.
Once again, the Bible speaks to this very real life issue of needing to fill voids in our thoughts and life and encourages us to fill them with things that are uplifting and provide real power.
Ephesians 5:8 says, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Colossians 1:9 finds Paul praying for the Colossians saying, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
And as we have looked at over the last few months, Philippians 4:8 reminds us to think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, for if we don’t fill our minds with these kinds of things, then lies and impure thoughts will come rushing in.
Whether or our own choosing or not, voids are inevitable. Loss is a part of life and often we have no choice in it, but we do have a choice on how we are going to fill the empty space created.
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