Empty Spaces
by Pastor Jim Stegman, Living Hope Christian Fellowship
(Bothell, WA)

Empty spaces don't usually stay empty very long. In the case of our houses there must be a Murphy's law that says, "The quantity of our junk tends to expand to the capacity of the available space" (or something like that). This scientific postulate was empirically verified recently when we moved and had to rid ourselves of volumes of things we rarely or never used. This law is also exemplified in the spring cleaning ritual and resulting garage sale. We tend to get rid of junk ... to make room for more junk!

We have empty spaces in our souls, as well. These spaces represent our sense of need for such things as approval, control and fulfillment. God created us as beings who have needs. We need God and each other -- there is nothing wrong with that. The question then becomes one of how we choose to fill those spaces.

Think about it for a minute. When you have that vague, uncomfortable, empty feeling, what do you do? Turn on the TV? Eat? Start talking to whoever is within earshot? Crank up the music? Get busy doing something? I read recently that a group of people was asked to sit (individually) silently in a room for 10 minutes. A high percentage of them were unable to complete the exercise!

Sometimes our closest relationships can be affected by this emptiness. We can become self-serving and manipulative in our pursuit of satisfaction. This can lead to relationships that would in current vernacular be called "dysfunctional." This simply means that the relationships are unhealthy. God longs to fill these spaces in our lives with healthy things and He is more than able to do so! When the Holy Spirit filled the believers on Pentecost Day, they were changed people. Their insecurities and weaknesses became boldness and strength. Their aimless activities were replaced with a passionate purpose. Although they were not perfect in character, they were fulfilled in their mission to bring the gospel of life to others in daily, supernatural partnership with God.

When we choose to let God fill the empty spaces in our lives, we are free to give our attention to the well-being of others rather that being preoccupied with our own needs. A striking characteristic of the post-Pentecost apostles was the abandonment with which they shared the message of Christ. They were able to rise above personal fears and threats to their own safety because of their focus on carrying out the mission.

The point of all this, is that it matters how we choose to fill the emptiness we sometimes experience. We all have needs, but to satisfy those needs in ways that are not God-focused becomes a junk-recycling program. Jesus says that the things we pursue and acquire that are outside of God's work are "wood, hay and stubble." To the degree that we allow the Spirit of God to fill our empty spaces, He produces "articles of gold and silver." Let's take a close look at what we have in the storage spaces of our souls. Let's clean out the unhealthy things. Let's clear out the junk and "go for the gold"!