WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FEEL EMPTY!

What do you do when you feel empty? So here you are, you have experienced a shift and are now having a hard time trying to adjust. Maybe it’s because the very thing you used to do has been taken over by someone else. Maybe it’s because you feel you are no longer valuable in the space you are in. Or worse maybe you are experiencing burnout and no longer have anything left to give.

• 3 Reasons why you feel empty
• What to do when you feel empty
• Cry out to God
• 2 reasons that prevent us from running to God first
• We feel unworthy.
• We think God does not care or want to hear from us.
• What happens when we cry out to God?
• He will hear us and comfort us.
• He will give us direction
• Conclusion

There are times in life when we feel like we have nothing left to give and almost feel like giving up. Today I want to talk to that person who feels insignificant and like what they are doing is insignificant. First off, you are not alone, we all go through those seasons. Running on empty can make one question their purpose and calling as well as their value. It also causes one to feel stuck.

3 Reasons why you feel empty

• When we experience shifts and changes in our lives that draw us away from our previous purpose and calling, a sense of emptiness can arise
• The loss of loved ones
• When we relocate or start a new career and we seem to be having a hard time adjusting

What to do when you feel empty

Cry out to God

God tells us to cry out to Him when we feel lost, broken, or empty. Unfortunately, we rarely run to God first when we are downcast instead, we run to our friends and loved ones and only seek God as the last resort. This unfortunately only gets us into more trouble. Although our loved ones love and want to be there for us, it sometimes can be difficult for them to be there for us in ways we need them to. So when you feel empty run to God.

After all, we are all battling and dealing with something so they will not be there for you in that capacity. Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit our precious friend who sticks closer than a brother. Jesus lives inside every believer so you can be sure that you are not alone. Granted we might not always feel like He is there but when we cry out to Him we can be sure that He hears us.

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2 reasons that prevent us from running to God first

We feel unworthy.

Let’s look at the book of Ruth, the story of Naomi. Naomi had 2 sons and a husband who died. Fortunately, before her sons died, they had both married but did not have any kids. So after the sons died, Naomi felt it was wise to send her daughters-in-law away. She told them she was no longer of value to them, so they should start over.

Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 
Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread. 
Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. 
The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband.
 If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 
But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:1‭-‬22 NKJV

Imagine the way Naomi must have felt. Here she was alone, yet she left her hometown full. According to her, she was no longer beneficial and there was nothing she could do. Unbeknownst to her, she had relatives that could inherit Ruth. Her bloodline was something that could not be taken away from her, but she did not know that. If you have felt like Naomi did, today I want you to know that you have something valuable in you that can not be taken away from you. Maybe you have lost everything. Physically, you could have lost it all. But one thing is for sure, God will never leave you empty-handed. He will never let you be fully depleted. He always has something left that you can use to get yourself unstuck.

Sin, shame, guilt, and a lack of identity can prevent us from crying out to God. When we dwell on our shortcomings, we can allow the lies of the enemy to overwhelm us. Some lies include the feeling that we have gone too far. God does not want to hear from us. It is funny how we can assume that other people deserve God’s grace and mercy, but not us.

What we cannot realize, though, is that Jesus died for our sins too. He paid the price so that you do not have to. Jesus also translated you out of the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom. This means that you are a co-heir with Him and are a child of God and His friend. You can rest in the assurance that you are worthy. This is not because of anything that you have done. But because of what Jesus did. We need to take on His righteousness and His grace and mercy. You do not need to earn it, just receive it and rest in that assurance. Why then are you putting all that pressure on yourself, thinking you need to earn and prove your worthiness?

We think God does not care or want to hear from us.

When Adam and Eve sinned, their first reaction was to hide from God. They assumed God would not want to hear from them because they had sinned. It was God who searched for them. Don’t we all relate to this? How many times have we run away from God because we think He does not want to hear from us? How many times have we allowed the guilt from sin to keep us away from God?

Check out the blog on Plowing. Are you going through it?

Sometimes we can convince ourselves that God does not care about us. This can make us avoid Him because we do not see the need to go to Him. How many times have you prayed to God and not had the answer you expected? I know you’ve had several and so have I. The problem comes in when, because of unanswered prayers, we allow ourselves to assume that God does not hear us. In moments of unanswered prayers, it’s very easy to allow the enemy’s lies to reign in your mind.

The enemy will tell you how God does not hear us because He has not answered the prayer. And because of the current circumstances, it can be very easy to accept those lies. The truth, however, is that God hears us when we pray. Psalms 34:17-18 is proof that God hears us when we cry and is close when we need Him the most. So whenever these lies stem up that tell us that God does not want to hear from us, let this scripture guide you and show you He does. God’s word is accurate and you can rest in it. God is not a man that He should lie, so when He tells you He is with you, believe it.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Isaiah 49:15‭-‬16 NKJV

Crying out to God does not have to be structured and religious, simply surrender to Him and be vulnerable. Just talk to Him like you would a friend and tell Him what is on your mind and heart. He is willing and has all the time to listen to you because you are His child and He loves you.

HOW TO PRACTICALLY FIND FULFILLMENT.

What happens when we cry out to God?

He will hear us and comfort us.

The Bible tells us that God is close to the broken-hearted and those with contrite hearts. We are also told that when we cry out to Him, He will hear and answer us. Do you feel broken? Are you hurting? Do you need God’s comfort? Tell God, he is more than willing to comfort you and be there for you. He promises to never leave you nor forsake you, and that is a promise. Why Would He send the Holy Spirit if He did not want to be there for you? Jesus promised he would never leave us as orphans and that’s why when he ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide. The best part is that the Holy Spirit lives inside you, so all you need to do is lean in and allow Him to lead you.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Psalms 34:17‭-‬20 NKJV

He will give us direction

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalms 32:8 NKJV

God does not want us to stay in the same place and so when we cry out to Him, we can be sure that He will give us solutions to our problems. One thing we fail to realize is that we already have it within us. When a problem arises, we already have the solution in us. The problem we have is that we are not in tune with ourselves and the Holy Spirit enough to reveal the solutions in us. God has given us everything we need to be victorious. But for it to be revealed, we need to not only spend time with Him, but also cultivate our spiritual senses too.

When the famine in Israel had become dire and the brook dried up, God instructed Elijah to go to Zarephath. God had already made provision for Elijah, all he needed to do was obey His instructions. This is the same case for you. It might look like you have hit a dead-end, but I want you to know that God wants to give you direction. He wants to be the one leading you, and He has made provisions for you. ALL he is waiting for is for you to allow Him to lead you and He will.

“Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” I Kings 17:3‭-‬7‭, ‬9 NKJV

Conclusion

• WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING ON EMPTY!
• WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST,
• What It Means When Your Brook Dries Up (3 THINGS).
• You Are Depleted, and This is The Reason Why.
• Why Your Breakthrough is Taking Long?

Throughout the scriptures, we see people who face impossible situations. But when they cried out to God, God gave them solutions tailored to their specific need and circumstances. When the Israelites needed to cross the Red Sea God had Moses use the rod, he had to part the Red Sea.

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’?

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. Exodus 14:10‭-‬16 NKJV

Later on, when they needed water to drink but lacked it because the water was bitter, God had Moses throw a stick to sweeten it. When Hagar cried out to God because she had run out of food and drink for Ishmael, God opened her eyes to see the well nearby. What I am getting at is that God already gave you the solution before you encountered the problem. That is why it is vital to turn to Him. He will open your eyes and you will realize that it was already in you. Even when you feel empty, remember, that God has put it in you. It has always been inside you,