I remember a few years ago, (before I was born again) I felt a void in my life which I couldn’t explain or understand. I knew it was there, but I didn’t know why. I thought perhaps I was just being ungrateful for all the good things I had in my life – like a good marriage, healthy children, and a steady job. At this time I knew that God existed, and I knew that He answered my prayers because I could see it, but I didn’t understand that we could have a close intimate relationship with Jesus through His Holy Spirit.

The bible tells us that sin separates us from God, and at that time I was a lukewarm Christian. I tried to satisfy the emptiness I felt through worldly things like entertainment, work, junk food, and just keeping busy in general. The problem is that these things don’t bring lasting satisfaction or fulfillment. What I didn’t realize, is that my soul was actually longing for a deeper and more intimate relationship with God.

The book of Ecclesiastes helps us understand that nothing can fill the God shaped void in our hearts except God Himself. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live (apart from Jesus of course), as well as the wealthiest, yet he understood that nothing but God Himself can satisfy a longing soul. Solomon describes how he gratified his flesh with everything that his heart desired (examples include: money, women, power, pleasure and prestige), but he then said that it was all vanity (or emptiness) and grasping for the wind. Temporary pleasures will always be just that – temporary, because God has created a special place in each person’s heart that only He can fill. He is the only One who can truly satisfy a hungry and thirsty soul.

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Psalm 107:9 NKJV

When I was running after worldly pleasures in an attempt to fill the void I felt, I didn’t have an appetite to read the Word of God and it just wasn’t a priority in my life. There is actually a Scripture which confirms this for us:

A satisfied (or full) soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Proverbs 27:7 NKJV

Honey or honeycomb in Scripture is usually a reference to the bible. My understanding of these words, “A satisfied (or full) soul loathes the honeycomb,” is that when we try to satisfy the void in our soul with worldly pleasures, it might bring us temporary pleasure and fulfillment, but no lasting satisfaction. And because we have filled our soul with worldly things, we lose our appetite for the Word of God.

“To a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet” confirms the fact that we do have a hungry soul which wants to be fed. But, what are we feeding it? When we try to satisfy this hunger through worldly pleasures (which are actually bitter), it will taste sweet to us.

A good example is this: If I have just eaten a full 3 course meal and feel completely full and satisfied, I will have no appetite to eat this same 3 course meal straight away, because I will feel too full. The same principle applies to what we are feeding our soul. If we have been filled and satisfied with worldly pleasures, it takes away our appetite for God’s word.

Worldly lusts and pleasures can include things like entertainment, binge watching movies or TV Series, addiction to gaming or social media, shopping addiction, gluttony, etc. Let me also just add that there is nothing wrong with things like shopping or watching movies (depending on the movie of course), but if we are trying to satisfy the longing in our soul for God through indulging in worldly pleasures, this is when it becomes a problem – because it takes away our appetite for the word of God. If we are replacing spending time with the Lord in prayer and scripture study with worldly pleasures all the time, that is when we need to realign our focus and priorities.

I would like to confirm that I’m not against living life to the full and enjoying the things which God has given us, but if what I am doing is taking me away from God, then I don’t want to do it. Here are some questions we can ask ourselves:

•  Is what I am busy with drawing me towards God or away from God?
• Do I still have a hunger to read and study His word?
• When I am feeling sad or empty, do I run to God or to worldly pleasures?
• When I am in need of wisdom or advice, do I go to google/YouTube, or to God and seek Him in prayer?
• What do I do when I am bored?

I would like to offer you some encouragement at this point.

Because I didn’t know or understand that I was desperately longing for God to fill the void I felt inside, I understand that there may be others who feel the same way. I believe that God allowed me to experience this, so that I could learn that temporary pleasures could never fill the void I had in my heart. This way, when God filled this void with Himself, I could recognize and understand the difference. I could experience first-hand His love for me and the joy and peace that only He can give. He filled this void with Himself and gave me one of the most precious gifts I have ever received – a genuine relationship with my eternal Father.

God knows that once He has filled this void in us, we will not easily run back to worldly pleasures because we have come to know by experience the lasting satisfaction that only He can bring us. We will know the difference between indulging in worldly pleasures which actually don’t satisfy us, versus the lasting joy, peace, wisdom, protection, provision and grace that only comes from Jesus.

I know from personal experience that nothing compares to the sweetness of being in the Lord’s Presence. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good for myself. I know the joy which comes from spending time with Him. I have felt His Presence so strongly at times when I was in desperate need of comfort or protection. I have experienced how He speaks to me through His written Word daily to teach me, correct me, and give me peace, joy, hope, truth, wisdom, etc. This is how the Lord satisfies a longing or hungry soul – with Himself. Thank You precious Jesus!

If you feel like you can resonate with this message, may I kindly encourage you to call out to Jesus. Ask Him to come and fill the void in your life. Start spending time with the Lord in prayer and in His written word. I understand that time is limited because we live in such a busy world – but we can make time if we make it a priority. If you haven’t yet been born-again (through repentance, water baptism by immersion and infilling of the Holy Spirit), make it a priority because when we are born-again, the Lord raises our spirit from death to life. We need our spirit to be alive so that we can respond to God’s leading. The Lord is faithful, and if you call out to Him asking for Him to come and fill the void in your heart, He will do exactly that.

May this message bless and encourage you in Jesus’ precious name.

Until next time – goodbye and God bless.