Dear Brothers and Sisters of Loving Stage:
These years, I always feel empty in my heart. Once I thought it was because I had no enough money and no status. In recent years, I have gained these but still felt empty. Though I often pray to the Lord, yet this feeling increases inside me by the day. And I’m increasingly afraid of this feeling. What should I do about this?
Sincerely yours,
NuoyanDear Sister Nuoyan:
In truth, you are not the only one who is perturbed by the feeling of spiritual emptiness. Such is the case with the whole society. Many people believe it is the result of lacking money, of having no status, of a sense of insecurity, of an unhappy family and so on. So in order to change these states, they rush and toil like hell. Some people want to make their lives happier by getting promotion and making a fortune. However when they are successful, they live in a hypocritical world full of intrigue and deception. Some people want to make themselves happier by seeking money. For money, they exhaust all of their wits and even swindle and bluff. A part of them make it come true, becoming millionaires or billionaires, but nevertheless lose more things of greater value. Some people set their mind on getting ahead in life. To achieve this goal, they condescend to sell their consciences and fleshes. In the end, their lives are not as happy as they dream, but are filled with helplessness and emptiness. … As we all know, Solomon is the wisest and richest king. But he said, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). These are sufficient to show that pursuing wealth, reputation and status can only make us ever more empty and depraved. For these worldly things are means used by Satan to bind and afflict us. Through worldly things, Satan makes us stray from God, pursue these meaningless and worthless things, and finally die with emptiness. Man’s heart is the temple of God, so once our heart is away from God and we lose the supply of God’s words, we will surely be empty.
On the Internet, I once read this passage of words in a book, “without the guidance of God, no matter how much rulers and sociologists wrack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No one can fill the emptiness in man’s heart, for no one can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the emptiness with which he is afflicted. … Man, after all, is man. The position and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. Mankind does not just require a fair society in which everyone is well-fed and is equal and free, but the salvation of God and His provision of life to them. Only when man receives the salvation of God and His provision of life to them can the needs, yearning to explore, and spiritual emptiness of man be resolved.” From these words, we can see that without God’s provision of life to us humans, without His salvation and without His word as the reality of our lives, our spirits are empty. The reason is this: When God created man, God breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living being. Therefore, the spirits inside us are from God and inseparable from Him; our spirits can recognize God and His voice, and need the watering, nourishing and supplying of His words. When we hear God’s word, praise Him or pray to Him in worship, we feel very peaceful, joyful and satisfied in our heart as if an orphan meets his or her parents again. The more we live by God’s word, obey Him and worship Him, the more we will feel assured and enlightened in our heart, and the more we will live a full and valuable life. Naturally, we won’t have the feeling of emptiness. As believers in God, we can confirm these. It’s clear that we humans’ lives are inseparable from God and the supplying of His words. Worshipping God and living by His word are God’s requirements for us created human beings, it contains the will of God, and is us humans’ spiritual needs, and this also involves our life’s mysteries. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) “It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63) The words spoken by God are the truth, the way, and the life. Only if we come before God to seek His guidance, care and protection and receive the supply of life from Him, can our spiritual emptiness be resolved.
Sister Nuoyan, at this point, you might understand that the reason why we feel empty is because we become distant from the Lord. Perhaps we busy ourselves with many things so we have no time to get close to Him; perhaps, for the sake of seeking after worldly fame and fortune, we neglect our relationship with the Lord; and perhaps, we do not often read the Lord’s words, thus losing a normal relationship with Him. … Whatever the reason, if we want to be free from the emptiness, we must recover a normal relationship with the Lord. Then how can we do it? First, we should pray to the Lord with sincerity, for He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). When we call upon God with a true heart, He will help and lead us. At the same time, we should seek out the Lord’s intention through praying. Why hasn’t our relationship with the Lord been normal lately? Is it because some of our living out displeases the Lord that He hides His face from us? If so, we must repent to the Lord and correct our mistaken actions. Through repentance, we will receive His guidance and then come out from the state of being weak, passive and empty. Second, we should practice our spiritual devotions more. By constantly reading the words of God, praying to Him and singing songs, we will gradually quiet our hearts before Him and recover a normal relationship with Him. For example, at ordinary times, we read two verses and pray twice every day; when we become distant form Him, we should read more verses and pray more times every day; moreover, we should sing songs more, spend ourselves on the Lord’s work more, fellowship with brothers and sisters more and so on. In this way, our relationship with the Lord will become ever closer. If we do not actually cooperate with the Lord but only passively wait for Him to act, then we will never recover a normal relationship with Him. For there is one condition that must be met before we can receive the Holy Spirit’s work, which is that we must cooperate proactively. Only this way will our situation get better and better. Step by step, not only can we be free from the horrible feeling of emptiness, but more importantly, we can be preserved to walk the path of salvation by God.
Sister Nuoyan, let me share my experience with you. A few years ago, I lived in the situation of pursuing reputation and status and material comforts, with the result that I felt empty and lived in darkness. At that time, even though I often prayed to the Lord, my heart was still taken up with these things, and thus my spiritual devotion became a case of just keeping to the external formalities. My prayers were the same old platitudes, and I was only satisfied with being familiar with and reciting scriptures. I did not seek the Lord’s will in His words. Neither did I pray to the Lord or look up to the Lord in my own difficulties in life. Therefore, my relationship with the Lord was still very distant. The feeling of emptiness deep in my heart had been with me, which made me feel fear. Afterward, I prayed to the Lord for His mercy again and again. Through praying to the Lord and searching the Bible continuously, I saw: When God blessed Job with livestock all over the mountains and priceless family possessions, he did not become deliriously happy because of these blessings. Furthermore, when God tested him and made him possess nothing, he wasn’t excessively sad and didn’t complain against God because of losing all these blessings, but instead regarded this experience as an opportunity to know the Creator. After he stood testimony, God blessed him with more than his beginning. In the end, he died full of days. Job lived by “fearing God and shunning evil” in his lifetime so he did not feel empty. Also, Peter did not be his own master in food, clothing and shelter. He did not pursue the material comforts but rushed about carrying out the Lord’s will and spreading His gospel. Peter pursued to love God to the highest level and obey God to the death. In the end, he was crucified upside down for God. Thus he was not empty either. Why did Job and Peter not feel empty? Because they did not pursue the worldly enjoyments, but sought and satisfied God’s will in every matter which befalls them, walking the path of fearing God and shunning evil. They did not live an empty life, but rather their experiences have still been widely praised now, two thousand years later. Until then, I knew it turned out that my spiritual emptiness was due to my wrong viewpoint toward pursuit. I didn’t pursue to know God, love God, satisfy God or practice the words of the Lord, as a result of which I couldn’t receive His guidance and thereby felt empty in my heart.
After that, I saw that the Lord’s words say, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37-39). From these words of the Lord Jesus, I understood the right goals to pursue that God pointed out to us: One is loving God; another one is loving our neighbor as ourselves. After finding the right direction, I began to practice the Lord’s words in my daily environment. In this way, bit by bit, my relationship with the Lord became closer and closer. In consequence, the kind of horrible feeling of emptiness disappeared. From my experience, I feel that the viewpoint toward pursuit is of great importance to us Christians. If what we pursue is approved by God, we will surely be led by Him. If we are distant from the Lord for a period of time, it proves that our viewpoints toward pursuit or practices aren’t after His will, and thereby we are empty in our heart. The only way to be free from the emptiness is to establish a normal relationship with God and walk the path which He approves. Only in this way can we always rejoice.
I hope that the above fellowship could give you some help. May the Lord lead you out of the state of being empty. If you have any difficulty or problem in life or in your spiritual seeking, please feel free to contact us. May all the glory and honor be to our heavenly Father.
Sincerely yours,
Brothers and Sisters of Loving Stage
If you have any understanding or enlightenment from God, welcome to share with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@hearthymn.com. For free devotional resources, read here: Spiritual Growth. We sincerely hope we’ll grow spiritually through sharing with each other.
You might be interested in: A Christian’s Repentance: Lord, I Want to Say to You …
from:Spiritual Growth
No comments:
Post a Comment