Fill the Gap

I recently saw this post by TobyMac. We can post these words all day ourselves because they sound good, but the fact of the matter is there is life-changing truth in these words if we fully embrace them and strive to apply them. As a woman who used to be a teenage and college-aged girl, I couldn't embrace or understand this for the longest time, and would wish for a man to come into my life to fill the gap, fully convinced I was sold out for God. The scary thing is that in the midst of my personal pining, I realized I wasn't even close to allowing God to have the reins of my life, especially in that area. One day, it clicked though for me. I remember wrapping up the study "Lady in Waiting" with some of my high school ladies and thinking about how I would be okay with or without a guy in my life. I'm not saying this is the "magic formula" but not much later my husband entered my life, and I didn't even think we were dating, but hanging out! That is how much I had clicked that switch off, and had found so much joy and peace, and satisfaction in Jesus. No one else entering my life could cause that kind of joy.  

But after a summer of fishing, baseball games, and just late-night faith talks, I knew this guy was the one. He was attracted to my faith, and I was so blown away by how much he challenged me to dive into God, not into him. That's what made it clear for me. He didn't provide the joy Jesus gave me, but he complimented it. He didn't "complete me", but he complimented my relationship with Jesus.

You see, we try to fit so many different people into a role that only God can fill. We are unfair to our friends, siblings, significant others, parents, loved ones, etc, because we expect them to fix the problems and the gaps that only God can fill and fix. We expect people to bring us a joy and a peace that only comes from God. So for the rest of February, I would like to take some time to consider what it looks like to allow God to fill the gap you think only a human can fill. Or the ones that you may be already trying to fill with a human.

I want to challenge you to give it all to God. This sounds like your basic, Sunday sermon here, but truly, right now, write down the things in your life that are frustrating to you at the moment. The things you can't let go of. Maybe it's finances. Maybe it's a career path you want to be on. Maybe it's finding a spouse. Whatever it is, let's find ways to let it go. Let's consider the things God can give us that those things or those people can't.

Consider Ruth for a moment with me. We read right off the bat that her, her mother in law, and her sister in law had all lost their husbands in a land and people frowned upon by God's people, Moab. Naomi's son's had married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, and as Naomi decides to return to Judah, to make amends with God in her homeland, she urges Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab, as she has nothing else to offer them, and knows full well that Moabite women would have much difficulty creating a new life for themselves in Judah. Orpah goes home, but Ruth insists on going with her mother in law, risking her future at getting another husband, living in a new land that didn't accept her people, and serving a Good that wasn't that of her people. Ruth chose to take a risk. What do you need to let go of in order to allow God to come in and fill the gaps?

Another powerful example from the Bible is when the woman came, broke her alabaster jar for Jesus, and anointed His feet with the perfume. This box represented her future, for they were meant to be broken at the feet of a fiance/future husband, as well as her wealth, as it cost much money of the woman's family to give this as her dowry. This woman gave it up for Jesus, showing that He was her Hope and future.

So the question that remains as we look ahead to this series, is are you willing to sacrifice your plans to God, allowing Him to guide you where He would like you to go, despite where you would like to go? As we move along the next week or so we'll consider how we fill the gap of our hearts with Christ, and how we do that, based on Ruth's story.

Scripture to Read:
Ruth 1, Luke 7:36-50

Questions to Ponder:
What is something you want so badly?
How can you come to a place of knowing that only God can truly satisfy you?
What does it look like in your life for you to abandon everything you have/want to God? (Whether than means that you can't place expectations on your loved ones that only He can fill, etc.)