Heart Tracks - Hollow Places

"This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory and His disciples put their faith in Him." John 2:11......"No love of the natural heart is safe unless the human heart has been satisfied by God first." Oswald Chambers....."If Christ has not been invited to fill up all the hollow places, we may be saved - but we are not safe." Beth Moore

Hollow places. We all have them and faith in Christ, saving faith, does not immediately fill them. That my friends is a life long journey. It's a journey too many of us do not care to make. We would rather seek to fill those places with things, people, that are not Him. We look for fulfillment is what is not Him, and rob ourselves of the joy of knowing the One who truly does "fill all in all."

We're told in John 2 that the disciples put their faith in Christ after seeing Him change the water into wine at Cana. They put their faith in Him, they were not ready to put their lives in Him...not yet. All of them still sought to find fulfillment in other ways. John and James craved recognition and power. Peter craved control. All of them craved the possession of something other than Him. Those cravings would lead to each of them failing Him in the end. Misplaced cravings will bring the same end to us all. Jesus said that there is no other name but His "by which we must be saved," but in truth, we tend to seek out a lot of "other names" than His.....even after we have exercised believing faith in Him. I know, because I've done so. So have you. Our question is, are we continuing to do so now?

How many of us are still trying to fill hollow places, empty places in our hearts and lives with that which isn't Him? In relationships, positions, possessions, earthly security, and maybe most deadly of all, ministry for Him. We're always looking for that "something" that will complete the puzzle, the missing piece. We may have first looked to Him for our salvation, but we've spent most of our time since looking at everything and everyone but Him. And the hollow places just end up being more and more hollow. The emptiness grows.

We feel that if we could just find the right person, the right job, the right church, or the right ministry, all will be well. The hollow place will be filled, but we never do, because even the most perfect person, job, church or ministry will not fill that hollow place. They're not equipped to, and the problem is not in the lack of these in our lives. The problem is in us. Jesus knows this, and He knows He is the only answer. Why don't we?

We all know that "needy people" can be very draining. What we don't know is just how needy all of us really our. As Moore says, "He is only one who will never be frightened by the depth of our need. Denying yourself does not mean denying your need. Denying yourself means denying you have the means to meet your need." So, fellow "needy person." Have we reached this place Moore speaks of yet? As the old saying goes, "Are we sick and tired of being sick and tired?" Sick and tired of trying to fill what only He can fill? Sick and tired of living with a gnawing sense of emptiness...hollowness? He knows our need is deep, and He is not scared off by it. All others may be, but not Him. We are all of us hollow men and women. Hollow people. He, the Spirit of Life, can fill us. Will fill us. Will He fill us, you, now?

Blessings,
Pastor O