December 7, 2018

Fill Yourself with Jesus

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:16-19

Many years ago I found myself in an uncomfortable friendship. We had loads of fun together. We got along great. But she wanted to do everything together, whether it was supper break from work or going on an excursion. It got uncomfortable.

She wanted to fill herself up with our friendship. It was flattering at first. Then it just got weird. I had a boyfriend and a family. I had other friends. I didn’t want to be her everything. I couldn’t be. The friendship ended because she had to have all or nothing. Possessiveness is an awful thing.

Years later another friend was having a rough time but doing all he could to deny it. Every waking moment had to be filled with activity. He could not simply sit and watch television or read a book. He worked all day, then meticulously planned to fill every waking moment after work and on the weekends. He didn’t want to be alone and he didn’t want to be still. It was a frenetic pace that was going to destroy him.

Both of these people were wonderful but they were trying desperately to fill up themselves with other people or activities. It was never, ever going to work. We are made to be filled with Jesus Christ. Until we understand that, we’ll never find happiness and contentment.

We see it so often in our society today. We want the latest gadget, the newest car, the Pinterest perfect house. We just know that more stuff will make us happy. When it doesn’t, we speed up that endless rollercoaster we’re on and try all the harder.

I wish everyone could understand how deeply God loves each and every one of us. We can rest in that. We can be content with that. We can be happy with that.

God loves us more than we could ever comprehend. We don’t have to worry about keeping up with everyone else. It doesn’t matter to Him. We don’t have to worry about being alone because He never leaves us alone. We don’t have to have all the answers because He knows everything and gladly fills us with His wisdom when we ask.

No one will ever be content chasing things. And no one will ever be happy trying to force someone else to be everything for them. Fill yourself up with Jesus. Rest in the joy and contentment that comes with Him as the focus of your life.