Emotions...got to love em'

If our creator created us to glorify Him, wouldn't it make sense that He would create us with a guaranteed need to seek Him? He did, in fact, give life that included free will because there cannot be real love without it. However, we also have a missing part within us that only He can fill. I have heard it described as a “vacuum style whole within our soul”. Why is this a necessary part of our journey here on earth?

As history has shown us, we, as the human race, have a real problem with pride. We like to take credit for things that He has given, fuss over giving onto others when it is by His gifts that we receive, and blame Him when things don’t go our way without acknowledging that it is by His grace that we don’t get what we deserve. So it is for our benefit that He gave us a desire to yearn for more. Many people try to fill this void with all kinds of pleasures. Some of these things may even be positive or well intended, but the truth is, nothing can fill that place that is left empty except Him.

The trick is learning how to totally depend on something that is not tangible in “this realm”. It is moving beyond what is logical and dancing on the side of spiritual faith. Once one fully accepts Him and all that He offers, it is a daily battle to stay there. I also believe this was set up from the beginning. His plan was not set in motion for us as an individual, but as part of the entire redemptive process. How easy would it be for us to stay within our own little world of content satisfaction and completely disregard other people still searching for the ultimate fulfillment if we never experienced seasons of silence? From someone who has experienced a bit of that overwhelming joy and peace before, I would say, “pretty easily”. Sure, there is a love and compassion for reaching the need of His people, but there is also a large disconnect. I predict that an extended amount of time in that high spot, we would eventually drift away from all things left undone to stay right there as long as we could. There may even be a natural separation in the “healed” and “unhealed” because one may forget how to relate to the other. Add those prideful tendencies and we have an unfinished plan without the proper means to see it executed in its perfection.

So given the reason for the need to pass through certain stages within the spiritual life, how do we handle those times of silence, second-guessing, and fear? My hunch is that we will never have a specific answer on this matter except to publicly confess God worthiness and to have continued faith in His word when everything in the physical realm speaks to the contrary. If it is possible to abandon our emotions long enough to rely strictly on obedience, then He will use that particular “low” in ways that we cannot imagine. There is no easy formula or quick fix in making the storm pass faster, only the comfort in knowing that discipline will give you what you need to endure it.