Full But Not Fulfilled
The Huffington Post reports:
You’ve just eaten 10 Taco Bell tacos and drank a frozen Mountain Dew and you still feel suspiciously hungry. You’ve consumed about 1,880 calories, but your body isn’t satisfied. What’s happening?
Studies show that satiety, the mechanism that stops us from eating more than what we need, has less to do with caloric intake than it does with the intake of certain macronutrients - types of protein, carbohydrates, and fat - and the physical volume of food. We’re getting plenty of calories when we eat a full sleeve of Oreos, but we’re not getting the nutrients that our bodies need for high quality, sustainable energy. Even though it may feel like a large volume of food, it moves through us quickly - meaning the feeling of fullness fades after we eat.
They continue:
The satiety level of a food is partially due to its nutrient density, which refers to the ratio of nutrients to calories. Though highly caloric, junk foods supply a much lower amount of nutrients compared to the volume of food. In other words, all calories aren’t created equal. For 100 calories, we can eat about 15 cups of spinach or two Oreos. The spinach will physically fill our stomachs with more food, plus provide dietary fiber and vital nutrients. The Oreos, on the other hand, provide little more than intense levels of simple carbohydrates, which give us quick bursts of energy that don’t last.
Desiring less than Jesus’ righteousness results in being unfulfilled.
If we are hurting deep in our belly for Jesus’ presence and guidance, we are on the right path, feeling an intense longing … wanting Jesus’ righteousness as much as a starving person wants food and a parched person wants clean water to drink. Those who have that desire have the promise to be filled. It’s an emptiness which opens us to the filling of the Holy Spirit.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6, NIV).
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
"My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work" (John 4:34, NLT).
Empty Vessels
Check this out ...
"We bought a house FULL of JUNK...!! What did we get ourselves into?"
The internet is filled to overflowing with stories just like this one — people buying homes at auction or in foreclosure, only to have to deal with all the old furnishings and junk that were left behind.
A house filled with old junk and clutter is not fit for habitation. It would be of little value to us until it is emptied of its contents. We need an empty house in order to properly set up housekeeping and make a house a home.
The Lord has little use for people who are full of themselves, their past "junk," and old, worldly ways. He needs an emptied vessel so that He can come and productively make His home within us.
In his ministry, Jesus loved to use empty vessels: empty boats, empty nets, empty jars, and empty tombs!
Are you ready to empty yourself to be filled with HIS fulness?
"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses [empties] himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:20-21, ESV).
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ... [who] emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5,7, NASV).
When Your Gage Reads "E"
If your car gas gauge is on E and you stopped at the gas station and filled the car up, what do you expect the gas gauge to read? You put gas in it so you expect it to show F. What would you think if it was still on E?
How do you think God feels when He gave His Son and it doesn't show? You invited Him into your heart and yet there is no evidence of Him being there.
You invited Jesus Christ into your life… does it show?
Was your life transformed by His son?
Where is the needle on the spiritual gauge of your heart? If Jesus is there, it should always read F.
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5).