Read: Romans 15:13
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Years ago I had positive quotes, which had special meaning to me, hanging on my wall. They seemed to inspire me and relate well to how I was feeling in my life. I would look at them often throughout the day. What seemed odd to me is that although they seemed to encourage me, I still would not feel better about my circumstances. There was no substance to the quotes – no handbook on how to feel better. They were just words. It was almost like watching a movie trailer but never watching the actual movie. So I decided to purchase motivational books. Certainly that would give me the steps I needed to comfort me in my times of trouble. It turns out the books had substance but no real useful answers. Looking back it seems silly that I would turn to motivational literature instead of God, but I had strayed away from my relationship with Him and was not allowing Him to guide my life. Fortunately, I found my way back to my Savior. I suspect I am not the only person who turns to something other than God for comfort. Just look at social media and you will see quote after quote on your feed. Quotes in themselves are not bad, in fact, I still enjoy them from time to time. However, now my faith in God is what gets me through my day. God has placed a longing for Him on our heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11) – every single one of us. However, we often mistake that longing for something, someone, or somewhere else. We continue to stumble because we are not acknowledging what that longing is. The sad part is, we will never find true joy until we do.
We have a decision to make. We can look to the world for our happiness, or we can look to God. The process of becoming complete in God will be a learning process – changing our ways does not happen overnight, but rather, over time. However, finding something else in the world to fill that emptiness is a process too. The difference is, filling the void with the world will bring continual disappointment, but filling the void with God will bring a peace that nothing can replace.
