Filling That "VOID" In Your Life

A lot of things have been going on in my personal & professional life lately. I have been doing a lot of reading and praying more so than I have ever done in the past. My relationship with God is growing stronger each day & each day I am ever more grateful to have the opportunity to know Him. This topic of 'filling the void in your life' has been on my mind now for a about a week or so as I speak with friends of mine, family members or reflect back onto my own life.

A lot of close friends I have, along with members of my own family often tell me how they have "an empty feeling inside" or "a deep void within me" or better yet "a piece of my soul is missing." When people tell me these things I am hurting inside because the answer seems so simple to me. "You need Jesus." So many people will often disregard such a statement and think I am nothing more than "a Christian trying to shove religion down their throat." I feel being someone who has been struggling with this "void" in my life for many many years, that I want to share with you how it can be filled.

As humans we tend to look to fill our lives with alcohol, drugs, sex, exercise, over working ourselves to exhaustion to satisfy this "hunger" deep inside. Even with close human relationships, as exciting or loving as they may be, they still will never completely satisfy this "emptiness" that we as humans often feel.

Only a relationship with God can fill this gap deep inside our hearts & souls.

Jesus said to us: "I am the bread of life." John 6:35

He is the only one who can ultimately satisfy our deepest hunger because He is the one who makes it possible for our relationship with God to be restored.


Ways that He satisfies us:

First, I know when I was using drugs, I often asked myself "What is the point of life?" or "Why I am even alive?" I have learned that until we come to a point in time in our life where we realize that we NEED God in our life and seek out to have a relationship with the Lord God we will NEVER find the true meaning and/or purpose of life. Lots of other things (like I listed above) can temporarily provide satisfaction but it NEVER lasts. Only once we are in a relationship with our Creator do we find the true meaning for our life.

Jeremiah 29:11 -" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Secondly, another thing I have learned in my relationship with God, is that the fear I had of dying has diminished. When I was living in sin I used to think about how often I could use or drink just one more time and die. I even had a terrible car accident in 2006 where I passed out while I was driving and hit a telephone pole head first with my SUV. Amazingly, I was able to walk away constantly thinking "Why didn't God let me die?" or "If I did die tonight, I think I would have gone to hell." For a while after my accident thoughts about why I had been 'allowed' to live when others in less severe accidents had not, haunted me. And although I was scarred from my experience & still fearful of death, the desire to get high and have my temporary satisfaction still came first before the Lord, leaving the aftermath of my decisions to follow. Through my sobriety and coming to know Jesus as my Savior, I also now know that my seat in heaven is secure. Only in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can we find eternal life. Our relationship with Him may start now, but it WILL survive death, and then go on into eternity.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end" -Ecclesiastes 3:11

Lastly I feel that in knowing Jesus as our redeemer, He has set up the plan so perfectly that we will also be able to receive forgiveness. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." If you are really completely honest with yourself you will realize you're not a perfect person and sometimes you do the wrong things. Sometimes you even do things you are deeply ashamed of. Believe me, I am not one to judge because I understand. I was someone who always thought that I was perfect. I thought I was 'invincible', that I hurt no one, and was basically not in need of anyone's forgiveness. I was someone who prided myself in 'not crying' and 'being strong.' When I entered into my recovery program, I learned really quickly as I did my Steps how WRONG I was. In Mark 7:20-23 Jesus says, "What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God." Most of us have committed one or some of these things and the fact is that we all need forgiveness. No one is beyond the point of being unable to be forgiven. You may be thinking that what you have done is something that God could never forgive or love you for. But God has seen everything in this world and loves us all anyway. 1 Timothy 1:16 -"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." The Pastor at my church spoke last night that Jesus is the "Great Healer," and with that said, I believe that just as someone who might get cancer would need a doctor to help them, whether they want the help or not.. we as humans need our 'Great Healer' to forgive our sins whether we feel that we do or not. Jesus' death on the cross has made it possible for us to receive forgiveness and for us to communicate properly with God. In this awesome way our greatest need for "satisfaction" has been fulfilled

Also as a side note: I am someone who used to think 'I could never COMPLETELY give my life to God, I would be giving up too much and getting nothing in return.' If you are thinking the same thing, fear not! You are not alone. Maybe people think that if they enter into a relationship with God, they are going to be losing so many things in life that they hold onto so dearly. But in reality this is so far from the truth. God loves us and only asks us to give up things that cause us harm. Example: If you saw children playing in the middle of the highway during rush hour traffic, wouldn't you get them out of the road for fear of their safety? In the same way that you are not trying to put a damper on their 'fun' you are just looking out for their best interests, God does the same thing in our life. The other thing to remember is that what Jesus gave up when He died on the cross for our sins is NOTHING compared to anything He might ask us to give up for Him. He gave His life for us so that someday we might be able to join Him in heaven. John 3:16 "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die" This gift of eternal life is worth giving up the 'earthly possessions' we might value and hold so high in our life. This life is only temporary anyway and we cannot even begin to fathom how long eternity is. We are only travelers here on earth...don't get so comfortable. Matthew 16:26 "For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?" Don't risk your soul. The gift Jesus has waiting for you is so much better, and as someone who has now seen both sides of the track as they say...I would never go back. ever.