Transformational Thought
I once heard a pastor give a sermon in which he related a word picture that is familiar to many of us. He stated that everyone has a hole, an empty space, in their heart that only God can fill completely. God alone is the perfect fit for that hole. When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we invite Him into our heart to fill this hole.
But using our knowledge of science, people, and the way human nature and the flesh work, this hole in your heart, your spirit, actually functions like a compartment with a vacuum in it. By definition, a vacuum is a space with the lowest possible energy (as in spiritually dead at birth). It is also a space of negative pressure. So it has a constant need to be filled. It will quickly and aggressively suck in anything in the surrounding environment to give it life. Think of a vacuum cleaner’s indiscriminate sucking.
That vacuum compartment, that “void,” is meant to be filled with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. But if we refuse to let them in, that powerful vacuum will suck in all the other junk lying in close proximity. Once it’s filled with junk, the heart has no room for our Lord and Savior. Having this junk in your core leaves you feeling empty and incomplete. Consequently, you continue to pursue other “junk” answers in an attempt to relieve your troubling feelings.
Until we fill that core vacuum with Him and live close to Him, we will continue to feel empty, insecure, inadequate, overwhelmed, and incomplete. SO, the big question we all need to ask ourselves is, “What have I allowed the vacuum to suck into my core, into to save me when I’m in a jam? Is it really saving me? Or is it just contributing to my slow demise?”
Satan’s provides many impostors delivering false hope for your need to be … important … loved … in control … secure … appreciated … valued … included … unique … pretty … comfortable … numb … high … you fill in the blank. Relying on these impostors to save you will actually cripple you over time. Satan conveniently leaves that fact out of his sales pitch.
Today, do you want to identify what got sucked into your vacuum? Look at your wrong decisions. Examine closely why you made those decisions. That is how you will see what got sucked into the center of your heart … what guides and motivates your decisions. You may say Christ is your motivation. But if you are honest, you’ll be surprised at some of the junk you allow to seep in and exert subtle, yet dramatic influence on your decisions. Dump the junk and intentionally allow God’s truth to fill you up with his loving grace and mercy. Only then will you be complete. Only then will you truly be who He designed you to be. Whether you let Jesus into your vacuum or you let your vacuum suck in the crappy debris that’s laying around will dramatically determine your life course and is your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Father, I often feel incomplete, as if some very important part of me is missing. When I get this feeling, I often respond in unproductive and even sinful ways: foraging for food, fantasy, entertainment, control, a drink, caffeine, or prideful recognition to soothe my unrest. Meanwhile You are here with me, patiently waiting for me to let You in. I continue on my own way, seeking satisfaction where there is none, becoming increasingly frustrated. This agitated condition makes it seem hard to turn back to You, the only One who can complete me. I cry out to You today. I cry out, “Help me, Jesus!” I pray this in the name of the Ultimate Vacuum Filler, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children say – AMEN!
The Truth
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:7
By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:14
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12
