“Empty Us, LORD, So We Might Be Filled More With You”
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13 NASB 2020)
Do we ever run—EMPTY?
Do we ever try to go, while sputtering along—On Fumes?
On Friday, I sat at the round table working with a co-worker, revising the words and syntax of the multi-page document. Prior to that moment, I arrived late, having taken time to stop by another place (one that I spent my life working within) to deliver a flower bouquet to my best friend. As I parked, I considered how I could go in and leave quickly, so that I could “get” to my new place of employment to work on the document we were revising.
As I parked and walked across the parking lot, Julie walked out of the building toward me.
PERFECT TIMING!
After precious moments talking and hugging, we said our goodbyes, and I quickly drove toward the regional center—LATER than I promised.
A few minutes later, Leanne and I sat side-by-side at the table, working through the document, page-by-page & paragraph-by-paragraph & sentence-by-sentence. As I glanced at my watch, I remember thinking, “I’m going to be late!” As I sat there beside Leanne, I considered how I could finish and leave quickly, so that I could “get” to my next appointment to share lunch with Sarah, my department chair.
Leanne exclaimed, “Go, I’ve got this. I’ll email it to you later, and you can read through it to see if we missed anything.” So, I raced from the regional center, LATE for lunch already, and I still had a 45-minute drive! Racing out to my vehicle, I immediately noticed the yellow light shining on my dashboard, pleading with me to—FILL MY TANK.
Do we ever run—EMPTY?
Do we ever try to go, while sputtering along—On Fumes?
Less than 45-minutes later, I parked near the courthouse and walked (double-time) toward the restaurant door, where I know Sarah waited for me. It was a delicious lunch, as expected; it was a lovely conversation, as hoped for. Then, four and a half hours later, we walked toward where we parked our vehicles, said our goodbyes, and I headed toward the house. I knew I had just enough time to drive home, brush my teeth, get Julie’s birthday gift laying on the kitchen counter, before driving the short drive to her birthday party. I was LATE—AGAIN—for the third time that day!
Evangelist Dwight L. Moody once said—“Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray that He would empty us. There must be an emptying before there can be a filling.”
Racing here and there. Going from one task to another. Running. Doing. Completing. Yesterday marked my 56th birthday, my 20,455 day of life (thanks Darrell for the math), and it has caused me to pause and wonder: Am I Running (from here to there), or Am I Being (in the moment)?
On Friday, I filled my gas tank, and last night, after a 2+ hour drive south to Knoxville with a good friend to visit a student and walk across the UT campus, I looked at my gas tank level and saw that I had already driven more than 385 miles, and it was already time to FILL my gas tank!
I knew as I parked late last night in our garage that I would need to pause for fuel tomorrow after church, before I could drive to the home where we met for our Sunday night Sunday School class.
- Today, I wonder if Christians Are We Running Away From—GOD’S DAILY CALLING?
- Today, I wonder if you are like me & ever run—EMPTY?
- Yes, I wonder—Do we ever try to GO, even while sputtering along—On Fumes?
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13 NASB 2020)
LORD, we are empty. Please fill us with YOU.
LORD, we know YOU filled us with YOUR Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation, but LORD, we know how we RUN, almost like a zigzag throughout our days, & LORD, today, we realize how we need to instead RUN STRAIGHT TO YOU!
Help us STAY beside YOU.
Help us STAY in YOUR WORD.
Help us STAY and never drift away from YOU.
Help us STAY in daily communication with YOU, listening always for what YOU speak.
Help us STAY in close proximity as we walk worthy of the calling YOU have placed upon our lives.
Help us STAY and never wish to run from—YOU.
In reading God’s Word early this morning, I found myself reading through the seventh chapter of the book of Acts of the Apostles, reading where Stephen (who was on trial for his godly actions) INSTEAD found an opportunity to preach the Gospel message to his accusers—INSTEAD of PLEADING for his life to be spared.
“Now when they heard this, [that they were stiff-necked and unbelieving in their hearts] they were infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
(Acts 7: 54-56 NASB 2020)
Praise God, His Grace is like water, flowing to the lowest places where mankind is trapped in their bondage of sin.
Thank God, once we belong to God, once we are His children, the devil cannot touch anything within our lives—without God’s permission.
The LORD is in control!
The LORD is in control of all circumstances!
The LORD is in control of EVERYTHING!
Thank YOU, LORD—You are the God of second chances!
Give us LORD a second chance to become completely empty so YOU can FILL US more with YOU!
- Maybe God is allowing us to GO because He is trying to get our attention.
- Maybe God is allowing us to GO, but when we pause to take a serious look at our life, we see ourselves measured up against JESUS, where we clearly see the truth.
- Maybe God is allowing us to GO, but today—we come to pause.
Do we ever run—EMPTY?
Do we ever—Go, while sputtering along—On Fumes?
- At the moment when God came into our hearts, when HE became our SAVIOR, we were no longer living for ourselves but we were then alive—walking close beside Jesus.
- At that moment, when God found us, empty and in need of His Grace, we were no longer sputtering along—EMPTY, but we were immediately FILLED with GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT.
- At the moment when our life on earth is complete and we finally reach our heavenly home, then we will hear the roar of applause as the saints of heaven welcome us home—RUNNING TOWARD OUR SAVIOR.
May we not run—AWAY from God.
Yes, as we “race” through this life, running toward this obligation and toward the next, may we run toward—GOD’S CALLING—COMPLETELY FILLED & ALIVE—LIVING for JESUS!
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13 NASB 2020)
&
From the beloved apostle John, we read these words and are reminded—“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”
(John 1: 16 NASB 2020)