Empty?

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (Matthew 5:3)

Our spiritual emptiness (poverty) may come as a surprise to some of us, but to God, it is no surprise. The humble heart will recognize that poverty of spirit and will seek God's plan on how to fill that emptiness within. Those unwilling to admit their spiritual poverty will attempt to fill that void in many truly unsatisfactory ways. None of those 'other options' will ever make a man or woman any less 'poor', though.

When we recognize our need for him, we aren't just asking for a 'temporary fill-up'. It isn't like our gas tank on our car where we go, fill up, then drive hard until the tank is almost empty again. The 'top off' of our spiritual 'tank' is continual, with his Spirit refilling us over and over again with each time we set aside a little time to be with Jesus. The car won't run with an empty tank and neither will we!

The acknowledgement of our spiritual hunger (need) isn't a one-time deal any more than filling up our tank at the service station is. The recognition of our need is the beginning of our walk with Jesus, but that walk must be continual. The humble will not only admit their need, but they will also reach out to have that need met. Sometimes we only need a 'top off', but at other times, we need a 'full tank'.

Maybe that is why a retreat from time to time is a good thing - it is a time to do more than just 'top off' our tank. It is a time to refocus, reenergize, and sometimes even to repent. The more we acknowledge our spiritual need, the more Jesus can fill us with all we truly need to see things be made afresh within us. Attitudes begin to reflect that time spent with him. Maybe one of the best things we can do is a little 'attitude check' to see if our tank is 'running low'.

We may not realize our need immediately but give Jesus enough time to help expose the need and we will come to that recognition eventually. Just sayin!