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To empty out even emptiness…

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It is good to come empty, that we might be filled, and to come, too, that we might be emptied of everything but Christ.”  

Those words were tucked in the middle of the devotion I read this morning, penned in the 1800’s by Mary Winslow.

And still true in 2016.

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I have days when I feel like I have nothing…I am drained bone dry of whatever it is going to take to do what needs to be done in the hours that lie ahead of me.

I am empty of hope and empty of motivation.

I am empty of desire to even serve.

I am empty of direction and where to even start.

So I come to Him to be filled.

And then I realize…I cannot be filled because I am already overflowing…

I am full to the brim of things like…

unmet expectations in myself…

questions about why this or that has happened…

concerns for the future…

regrets for the past…

seeds of bitterness that are attempting to take root…

envy of others who seem to have “gotten it right”….

grief for people and battles we have lost.

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Filled to capacity with everything but Christ.

And so I find, yet another morning, I am dragging my sorry self to the foot of the Cross to empty out the fullness of my emptiness so that I can make room for Him.

And yet again, I marvel that in exchange for this pouring out all that is unlovely and unholy and so achingly human…

He pours in…

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Hope…

Forgiveness…

Mercy….

Grace…

He pours in His Joy

Peace

HOLINESS….

His promises that His mercies are new every MORNING

EVERY. MORNING.

Great is HIS faithfulness.

And I get up once again and I put one foot in front of the other…

right where I am…

just the way I am …

but no longer full of emptiness…

reminded once again…

it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST …. who lives within me.

It has been said that we need constant re-filling of His Spirt because we leak…

so true…

the goal is to spill out over others what has been poured in…

but often it also just seeps through the cracks of daily living.

Either way…

I encourage you to bring yourself daily before His Throne..

when things are going well…pour out your joy and the fullness of the blessings you are living in…

when you are drained to the dregs by circumstances…pour out the empty places

examine closely what is filling your heart…

and pour it out so that He can be poured in.

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….we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens

and know that all is well,

for we know how dearly God loves us,

and we feel this warm love everywhere within us

because

God has given us the Holy Spirit

to fill our hearts

with His love <3

Romans 5:5 TLB

 

 

 

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4 Comments

  1. Laura, you have such a gift with words that speak encouragement and hope. Thank you for the ministry of this blog.

    1. Thank you Tabitha. That means a lot and came on a good day at a good time. There are days ….like most every…I wonder what the heck I am doing, but I can’t not…so I pray and I ask God what people need to hear and I write. Sometimes we need a laugh, sometimes we need to know we aren’t the only ones who feel a certain way, sometimes we need a hug and sometimes a kick in the pants…I feel all those and just pass along what He leads me to share. If you all get anything out of it, it’s all Him…just pray for me to keep staying out of His way so He can do His thing <3 Blessings right back on you, my younger friend...thankful for your encouragement today <3

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