Jesus Fills the Void
Some people always see the best in people and situations. Others see only the worst. I label myself a positive realist—I don’t see people and situations as good to the point where I ignore what’s bad, but I try to see the positive.
The Void of Loss
I was running errands with my family the other day when a sense of grief hit me. We live in Denver, and all our parents and siblings live in other states. My husband’s mom passed away in 2006, and my mom passed away in 2017. I don’t recall what brought on the grief that day, but I found myself lamenting that neither of us had a mother. I remember thinking it would be easier to accept the loss of my mom if I still had a mother-in-law.
As I watch friends two decades older than me visit or interact with their moms, it just feels like we’re way too young to not have our mothers and too soon for our children not to have their grandmothers. I feel the void. There’s something missing. Even as I feel it, though, I also experience the Spirit gently reminding me that Jesus is my everything. I’ve chosen to follow him, and I place my trust in him in such a way that even if every earthly possession I have is taken from me, I am fully sustained in him.
The Void of Relationship
Two friends of mine are going through challenges relating to their marriages, and I have spent hours in prayer on their behalf. I know countless others who have faced separations and divorce for various reasons. The hurt and the void is so real when someone you’ve committed to spend the rest of your life with wounds you. It’s the kind of void that’s in your face every day.
Jesus doesn’t promise we’ll have smooth sailing; he promises the opposite: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). I’ve lived a little less than half of my anticipated lifetime on this earth, but even in that time God has grown my faith in him through my struggles. So I can’t wish those struggles away. If our singular focus is on him, only then can we count it joy when we face “trials of many kinds” (James 1:2 NIV). Joy isn’t throwing a party in the midst of pain; it’s understanding that a bigger purpose for the pain will ultimately lead us closer to our God.
The Void of Purpose
Another void we can experience has very little to do with people. Instead, we feel aimless and hopeless in our purpose. What is God calling us to? Are we spending our time doing something we’re passionate about and that honors him? Do we want to, but we’re not sure what that is? Who did he really create us to be? Do we even have a specific purpose, or is God just asking us to love those around us wherever he’s placed us? If our purpose is simply loving those around us, exactly what does that look like?
This is again where we can turn to the Spirit and the Word of God who is Jesus to fill the void. We might not have what we’d consider a big fancy purpose. However, God’s Word is clear that we are to love others, so we know we can start there. How can you practically reach out to a neighbor who’s different from you and show you care? In what nonprofit work near can you engage? How does your church make new disciples, and how can you get involved? (Side note: If your church community isn’t actively seeking ways to make new disciples, how can you help them start?)
Seeking Jesus and obeying his commands is our purpose. Maybe God has something else in mind for us as well, which he will reveal in his timing. Even if he doesn’t, though, it’s extremely purposeful to love his creation. Jesus will meet us in that.
Jesus Fills the Void
We face many voids. Some feel a void in being single when their heart desire is to find relationship. Some feel a void in the struggle of infertility or the loss of a child. Some feel a void in their jobs or in families with difficult relationships. Some feel a void as it relates to financial security and making ends meet.
Regardless of the void in your life, Jesus wants to fill it. That may sound cliché, but it’s truly the good news of the gospel. Jesus can satisfy our every need, and he is a constant who will never fail. If we simply allow him into the dark, hurting places of our hearts, he will heal our wounds and sustain and carry us. He will grow us in our faith as we learn to depend on him. He does a beautiful restorative work if only we will let him.
is a Jesus follower, wife, mom of three, church planter, finance director, and lover of sarcasm and deep conversation with friends. She also loves camping, rafting, skiing, sewing, and having people over. Amy blogs with her husband at fringechurch.com.
Photograph © , used with permission
