We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our “horror vacui,” our horrendous fear of vacancy. We like to occupy-fill up-every empty time and space. We want to be occupied. And if we are not occupied we easily become preoccupied; that is, we fill the empty spaces before we have even reached them. We fill them with our worries, saying, “But what if …”

It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. God wants to dwell in our emptiness. But as long as we are afraid of God and God’s actions in our lives, it is unlikely that we will offer our emptiness to God. Let’s pray that we can let go of our fear of God and embrace God as the source of all love.

When Tempted, Humble Yourself Before Godby Rick Warren”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 NIV).

There is always a way out.
You may sometimes feel that a temptation is too overpowering for you to bear, but that’s a lie from Satan. God has promised never to allow more on you than he puts within you to handle it. He will not permit any temptation that you could not overcome. However, you must do your part too by practicing biblical methods for defeating temptation.
First and foremost, you want to refocus your attention on something besides the temptation. It may surprise you that nowhere in the Bible are we told to “resist temptation.” We’re told to “resist the devil,” and that is very different (James 4:7).
The Bible says we’re to refocus our attention because trying to resist a thought simply doesn’t work. It only intensifies our focus on the wrong thing and strengthens its allure. Let me explain:
Every time you try to block a thought out of your mind, you drive it deeper into your memory. By resisting it, you actually reinforce it.
Whatever you resist, persists.
This is especially true with temptation. You don’t defeat temptation by fighting the feeling of it. The more you fight a feeling, the more it consumes and controls you. You strengthen it every time you think it.
Since temptation always begins with a thought, the quickest way to neutralize its allure is to turn your attention to something else. Don’t fight the thought, just change the channel of your mind and get interested in another idea. This is the first step in defeating temptation.
The battle for sin is won or lost in your mind. Whatever gets your attention will get you. That’s why Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman” (Job 31:1 NLT).
And David prayed, “Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless” (Psalm 119:3a TEV). 

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. - Hebrews 7:25-27

When you’re going through hardship, or when you’re heavyhearted and burdened, God rolls up His sleeves and moves toward you like at no other time. When you are His child, He is with you in a way that is different from what an unbeliever experiences. The harder the days get, the closer He moves in.

Sometimes it feels like God backs away from you when you hit hard times, but that’s not true. It doesn’t matter if you see Him working. It doesn’t matter if you feel any differently. It’s the truth—God is right there with you.

Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Is your heart breaking today? God is rushing toward you. He stands with you in the fire.

Scripture assures us that Jesus Himself is praying for you. This minute. Hebrews 7:25 makes this amazing statement: “Consequently, [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus lives to intercede for you. Amazing! Before you ever kneel down to pour out your heart to God, Jesus Christ has already called out to His Father on your behalf. Even before you ask, He knows from firsthand contact what you need—because He’s with you.

I remember this quote from my college years: “If you could hear the Lord praying for you in the next room, you would not fear a thousand enemies.”

Right where you are this moment, think of the Lord Jesus as in the next room, on His knees in front of the couch or a chair. His nail-pierced hands are held out and He’s lifting you and your need to His Father. He knows your exact situation. He’s asking His Father to “Give her strength, Lord.” “Give him wisdom, God.” “Give them patience. They’re going to wreck it on their own, Lord. Give them faith that will overcome their fear!”

It’s an incredible assertion throughout Scripture that Jesus Christ is not only with you, He’s actually interceding for you. With even more assurance, you can be certain that God listens when His Son is praying!

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
1 Peter 5:6

Recommended Reading
Luke 14:7-11

Expected to work in the refinery and live a blue collar life just like his father, 5’ 7” Daniel, “Rudy” Ruettiger had a dream to play for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and make something more of his life. It took him two years of junior college and three rejections before he was finally accepted and placed on a practice squad. Grateful to just be among the best collegiate players of the game and living his dream, Rudy got the surprise of his life when, in the last 27 seconds of the last game of his senior year, Rudy’s coach put him in the game. He sacked the quarterback and was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates. To this day, no other person has ever had that honor.

So often, we have an attitude of entitlement instead of humility, wishing to be more, do more, and have more right away. But just as Rudy rose to his place of honor through humility and contentment, Christ says that “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). As you go through your day, strive not for greatness or honor; rather, aim to be humble and believe that God will exalt you in due time. 

Humility is a paradox; the moment you think you’ve finally found it, you’ve lost it. And yet, God expects (and rewards) an attitude of servant-like humility in His followers.
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But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. 
Psalm 115:18

Recommended Reading
Psalm 103

In the movie “Pay It Forward,” the concept of paying someone back for a good deed done was replaced with the idea of passing the blessing on to another person instead, creating an endless chain of giving to others what was given to you. The thought was that, in time, people everywhere would look for ways to pay it forward and the world would become a better place.

As Christians, we have the opportunity every day to pay it forward to those who are lost in this world by giving them a glimpse of Christ through our kindness. We were each given a gift when Jesus hung on the cross and died for our sins, and every time we demonstrate His love to someone, we not only bless them, we also bless our Lord and Savior.

The Bible tells us that when we stand before our Maker to account for our time on earth, what we have done for “the least of these” will be as if we did it unto God Himself. So, let’s eagerly search for ways to bless those that God places in ourpath with the ultimate aim of glorifying our Heavenly Father.

All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors.
John Calvin