This may sound obvious, but I was struck by this thought the other day:
no two things can occupy the same space
Ok, wow, really profound, right?
Well, here is why I think it is actually quite profound…
Something that I have been noticing lately is how much people have been striving to be poured into by the Spirit. I have heard people saying, "I feel so empty", or "so far from God", or singing songs with lyrics such, "fill me up God" (I don't think that it's bad to ask the Lord to be filled up by his spirit- it's the striving behind it that causes me angst.)
My heart becomes so heavy when I hear God's sons and daughters crying out to Him to be filled up and then not receiving His love.
I don't think the reason they do not feel filled up by the Spirit is because God is withholding it from His children.
"…The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." -Psalm 84:11
"Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually." -Psalm 105:4
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." -Matthew 7:7
The Lord honors and blesses those who seek Him, it delights Him to draw near to His kids, but how can He fill us up if we are full of other things.
It's like asking your server to fill up your glass with water when it is already filled with soda. First the soda must be emptyed to make room for the water.
Sometimes I think as humans we become so accustomed to holding onto our doubt and hurt and fear, that we forget or resist to letting them go in order to let God in.
"…perfect love casts out fear…" -1 John 4:18
His love is so powerful that it can cast out all fear- all things that are not of him, but if we are gripping those things so tight, we are rejecting Him from moving in, in order to replace our "crap" with Him, His love.
A couple weeks ago I realized that I had been holding onto a lot of doubts that I had. I had developed many doubts because of ways that I thought God had let me down. I told Him how I didn't believe He is always good, I told Him I didn't trust that He works all things for good, and the list goes on and on…
He already knew all those things. He was just waiting for me to release them in order for Him to move in.
I couldn't let anything good in unitl I had first created space for it.
And once I had let all the ugliness I was feeling out, He filled me with His Spirit in a new and sustaining way. It didn't make my life all rainbows and butterflies. (O, doesn't that sound lovely though?) But it did make me more aware of my Papa's sweet presence and more welcoming to His loving and restoring Spirit.
We are humans in a fallen world. We as His children are perfect in .His eyes. Do we have doubts and fears and hurts. yes. He wants to cast it all out. He wants to fill in the space in our hearts and minds that was created for Him to reside in, in the first place.
Unclench your fists. Let the hurt and fear and doubt out and invite Him in.
Is it hard? yes. Letting go of things that we have been holding onto for so long is exposing and vulnerable and humbling, but He will come in, to restore and to transform. To fill and to redeem.
Always.
His love is the same yesterday, today and forever!
