3 Ways to Fill Up When You’re Empty

May 1

Ever feel like you’re a bit off, like something isn’t quite right?

When I feel this way I know I haven’t been nurturing my soul and spirit - that unseen part of me that needs care and attention too.

We are body, soul, and spirit.

What we see here on earth is the physical and the lure of things like social media can trap us into hours of focusing on such.

We scroll through photos of vacations, current fashions, fad diets and schemes with million dollar promises.

This eye candy may tickle our dopamine receptors – temporarily, but what about our soul and our spirit?

We are multi-faceted human beings after all.

There is a beautiful and personal part of us. It needs nurtured as well for what is on the inside eventually comes out.

Like our physical bodies needing wholesome, nutritious foods, our souls need well fed too.

When we are developing as children, the outward growth is obvious, but there is great inward change as well.

We are taking in the world around us, learning about it as well as ourselves. We discover if we are important to those around us, if we are safe, loved, or ignored.

Our self-worth and self-esteem are forming. We are learning how to “be” in the world. How to interact with others, self-regulate, and good from bad.

And as adults Satan wants us to ignore our soul and spirit. He knows our most beautiful and satisfying life is rooted in Christ.

If our lives are not built on the Rock, we will topple and tumble when the winds of hard times come our way like the house Jesus’ parable Jesus in Matthew 7.

Our lives will be full of angst, worry, and frustration.

How do we nurture our inner world, that sacred, deep place where Christ resides in us?

Take a Break from Social Media

This may be tough, but studies show improved mental health when social media is restricted.

Many have remarked feeling calmer, more relaxed, and less driven by consumerism when time on social media is limited.

When we stop watching others live their lives (or what they portray as their lives), we start living our own with life giving activities such as interacting with others, green therapy, and partaking in life giving hobbies.

Join the Party

Now that we have more free time, we can drink from the River of Life that truly satisfies our soul. The Father, Son, and Spirit delight in us and we get the joy of delighting in them.

No, you don’t have to find a dark cave and recite a chant, although if that brings you joy in the Lord, go for it.

The Trinity loves to be together. They are relational beings and created us to be the same. They long for us to join them in their joy.

Can you just picture them – as if at a great feast celebrating each other and all those with them, inviting you and me to join them?

We can indulge in their joy in many ways; Scripture study/memory, singing praise and worship, praising God as we indulge in His creation, serving someone in need just to name a few.

Which brings me to the next point:

Love Others

It’s hard to have a relationship with others with our heads down staring at our phones. As stated, we are relational beings.

We need people and people need us.

Social media and advertising would love for us to spend our money and time buying their wares instead of nurturing our relationships.

This doesn’t mean we don’t buy things we need.

After all, we can’t have people over for dinner if we have no food to eat or furniture to sit on.

“Everything boils down to this one word with the massive meaning.”

It means we put most of our energy into what really matters.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses several issues in the Corinthian church.

As the book progresses, he continues to narrow his focus to his most important point.

In the last verse of chapter 13 he states “now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (vs. 13).

One Big Word

Love.

Everything boils down to this small word with massive meaning.

If we are keeping love at the forefront, all the other issues will fall in place.

Our heart, mind, and soul will be satisfied because we have joined the Trinity in their work and fulfilled our God given purpose to love and glorify Him by loving others.

And it feels pretty darn good too.

For more encouragement and inspiration check out these other posts:

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