Filling the Void

When I was growing up, there was always such an emphasis put on the material things people had. What defined you was how good your job was, how nice your house was, or how much money you made. Naturally I fell into this same mindset as I grew up and got a job and got out into the real world. At a young age, I was making good money, I had a nice truck, and had my own place to live. I really had everything that the world said I needed, but there was always something missing. There was always that feeling that I needed more than what I had. This feeling is one of the things that pushed me to become a Christian 4 years ago. I was a guy who seemingly had all I needed, but there was still a huge void in my life that needed to be filled by something.

This situation we find ourselves in today reminds me so much of what I went through 4 years ago when I became a Christian. I was a guy who was so focused on a job, money, or any other material things I could buy, that I felt that I didn’t need to be spiritual because I could just work and buy my way to happiness. This is what our world today looks like. People feel no need to be spiritual because they feel that they can work or buy their way to happiness. Well I’m here to tell you that you can’t.

When I first sat down to study the Bible with people, I began to realize that there is more to life than what this world can offer. That is when I began to understand the great battle that everyone of us faces. The battle of Spiritual things V.S. Physical things.

This is the same battle that we’ve been warned about in the Bible. In Mark 4:14-20 Jesus gives a parable about a farmer going and planting seed. He tells us about the different kinds of soil and the different obstacles that those soils have that can keep them from growing into fruitful plants. It’s interesting that in this parable, Jesus explains that the thorns that choke out the seed represent the “worries of the world, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things.”

When you boil it down, the reasons we put physical things over spiritual things are these same reasons. We have worries in this world, we think money is the answer to our problems, or we choose to put other things before our relationship with God. Jesus knew we would be people who wanted physical things more than a genuine relationship with God.

If you’re reading this blog today, I want you to know that I have personally found myself in this trap. It’s a trap that I think most of us find ourselves in at some point. We allow the things in this world to come in and choke the spirituality out of our lives. If you’re like I was, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your life and you have a void that money, or anything you can buy with money, won’t fill.

In Jesus’ parable, he talks about a “good soil” that accepts the seed and produces fruit. If we want the void in our lives to be filled, we have to see the need in accepting God as the king of our lives rather than letting the “worries of the world, deceitfulness of riches, or desires for other things” be the king of our lives. We have to learn that accepting God as our king and choosing to “produce fruit” for Him is the only way that void in life can be filled.

Today some of us find ourselves in a time when our jobs, money, and other things have been temporarily taken away from us. It’s my prayer that this unique time will help all of us to see that these things are exactly what Jesus called them; deceitful. These things aren’t what we really need to help us in life, but being spiritual is what we need.

I hope you’ll take my experience into consideration during this time. I hope you’ll let the words of Jesus sink in and choose to seek God in whatever way you can during this crazy situation we’re in. If there’s ever anything I can do to help you do this, please reach out to me.

koltonballance@gmail.com

I love you, and God loves you.

-KB