Ephesians 3:14-21
Everyone has a bad day. Those are just part of our lives. However, do you feel like your bad days are increasing and your good days are the ones that are few? Do you feel empty? Unsatisfied? Do you try to fill yourself up? People will eat until overfull when they feel empty. People will drink to excess when they feel empty. People will find sources of comfort and love that leave them feeling worse when they feel empty.
It's our nature to compensate and self-medicate. We are not a people that enjoy pain, and when we feel pain, we need for it to stop. We need to end it. You know how you can be hungry, but not know what for? And how you can graze and still keep going back to your fridge because you have not found what is going to trigger your brain that you are happy and satisfied with what you ate?
But, how is it that some people never seem (publically anyway) to be unsatisfied. They seem to be thin, fit, athletic, bills paid, well-heeled, happy, worshipful, thankful, smart, educated, clear skin, good hair, etc... And we, for some reason, immediately pull our rulers and measurement devices out. Why God? Why them, Lord? Why not me? Why not this or that? Why give them this? They can't even appreciate it the way I would, Lord. They don't even know how lucky they have it, Lord!
Have you ever wondered if you are a "whole person"? Our very emotional make up leaves us "un-whole." We are born with a desire to eat. We are born with a desire to connect with other people. We are born with a desire to mate. We are born with a desire to be in a pack. Yet, we are told our whole lives to be unique, special, and called out. We are taught to be competitive, daring, and ambitious to that we will be separate. Let me just say right here: We all go through it. We all get lonely. We all want love. We all want God. We all want people and friends. We all want our family to be safe and happy and health. Everyone. You are not alone. We all have struggles in life that could make us feel incomplete, but the apostle Paul says we can be "filled up to all the fullness of God" (v. 19).
Don't let your victory, your natural gifts and your essence that God gave you be destroyed because you are never satisfied. A "whole person" is generally satisfied with life. They feel loved and are able to love others in return. Difficulties and hardships don't devastate them because they are able to go through them with confidence in God. They aren't a complainer or someone who is quick to blame others. A positive attitude guards their mind since they know that the Lord will work everything out for good (Rom. 8:28).
But this isn't magic. It's not something that you can fake. And it's not something that you have a "recipe" for... Being a Christian doesn't automatically make us feel complete, and it's not a fix-all solution for the consequences of poor choices in your life. Fullness comes only when we experience God's love for us. [For two decades now, and for many years prior, I knew *theologically* that the Lord loved me. I have sung it, preached about it, written about it, and published it. But I didn't really feel it. It was ONLY after I took a deep look at my life and started dealing with events that had fractured my soul, both in childhood and things I did to myself as an adult, that I began to experience God in a new, and very intimate way. Once I felt the security of His love for me, I discovered great joy in walking in obedience to His will. The reason was that I knew I could trust Him to meet all my needs in His time and in His way. It takes the stress and discomfort of waiting and worrying away.]
Do you feel God's love, or is it just a biblical fact to you? If you only have the "head knowledge" of your faith, you will miss out on so many things... If you long for wholeness, the key is to experience an real relationship with Jesus Christ. This is possible only when you're willing to open up and let the Lord search your heart. It isn't always comfortable, but if you are willing, He'll reveal what's holding you back from accepting His love and His favor.
Cheers,
#JustBeingMichael ツ
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