Some days my written words come easily. Other days I need to show and tell you what’s on my heart. Today is one of those days.
Please {like pretty please even if you don’t normally watch video posts} click the arrow below to “hear” today’s message from my heart to yours. I don’t want another day to go by without you knowing this…
{Are you a note-taker? If so, I created “Video Message Notes” in a PDF and in MSWord just for you. Even included blanks to fill in. 🙂
Today’s Giveaway:
Two friends of mine who serve behind the scenes and are part of our online study, [thank you Donna & Veronica] have donated copies of my book to giveaway today. Together we created 5 gift packs for 5 of you. Each one includes a copy of my book, A Confident Heart {for you or a friend?} and my testimony/teaching message on CD, Letting God Fill My Empty Places.
Let’s Connect {and how to enter today’s drawing}:
I’d love to hear your thoughts about today’s message… and this is an easy way to enter today’s giveaway too. Just click “share your thoughts” right below this post and do just that – share your thoughts. {I love to read them! And pray over you when I do.} I’ll be there reading and sharing my heart with you too.
For More Daily Encouragement join my Confident Heart Facebook page.
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I agree with your message and I think your book addresses exactly where I am. Several life changes beyond my control have been used by God to show me where I have been trying to find meaning, confidence and significance. I have tried to walk through many doors only to find them closed and I believe that God is using this time to show me what I tend to run to instead of him. God is ripping the ‘mini gods’ out of my life. Never have I been so aware of how deep my feelings of jealousy run, and how insulting this is to God who gives us all good gifts. He is more interested in changing WHO I am rather than WHAT I DO, and we know from Romans 8: 28 that in all things God works for good for those who love him. We like to think that this will end up in our getting what we want, but what follows in that text is that we were created for HIS purposes and that is to conform us into the likeness of Jesus. My heart struggles to lay down my attempts to find meaning outside of my position in Christ but I am also being strengthened to rest in the truth of God’s word and his promises.
I wanted to cry after I listened to your video. Oh how many times as a young women (I’m still young) I wanted to please my parents and it then went into trying to please the men in my life. When I decided (and this was recently I might add) that I found out what/who God said I was and how he loved me it truly changed my outlook on life. I so much understood you filling the vase with other things other than the living water. Mind you I still have to pray because my flesh wants to go back to that wanting others to fill me but when I get into Gods word he reminds me who I am and whose I am.
Thank you so much Renee for having this online study it is making a difference!
With Love Kim!
Thank you Renee for you messages… I look so forward for your special messages, they are such lift in my life. I have been going through some rockie spots in my life. But thank to our dear Father in Heaven and the care he has given me, with my ups and downs. With lots of prayers and reading his word (Bible) I am having more ups than down. Your message this time was for me. My Father in Heaven is guiding me. I am so glad I know him.
This one has made me sad. It’s too true of me. I have struggled with putting people, especially my husband, in the position of fulfilling me since, well, always. God has pointed this out to my on several occasions, yet I fall into that trap again and again. I want God to fill all my empty places. I want to turn to Him for my fulfillment. I know I keep missing out on a great thing, when I don’t, and this makes me sad. I want to be filled by my God.
Wow, amazing, just what I needed to hear today. God has truely been filling me up and I know that I will find what I am looking for in God. He has proved himeself faithful and true. His love has truely overwhelmed me.Thanks
I love how God’s timing is so perfect. I need these lessons.
Renee I just want to thank you for doing the will of God, our Heavenly Father and for obeying His calling for you. What an inspiration you are to countless women. God’s unconditional love is like no other. His love has gotten me through some ruff days, weeks, months, and years. He is faithful and His love never ending. Thank you for reminding me that He fills us completely and that we do not need to turn to earthly fulfillment. Blessings and prayers to you this day.
Thank you for the video example. I have spent my 47 1/2 years trying to fill my heart with people, things and a career. I’ve been a Chrisian for 19 years, but I’ve come to realise I’ve been “sleepwalking” my faith. Thank you for showing me how to fill my heart with God and that he alone is enough, he alone is all I need.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for this demonstration, Even though I am a day late watching it. You have explained exactly how I have been feeling. I have been searching, even though i know God is the one to fill me I still search. Please pray for me that I will empty myself of the things of this world and fill myself with the things of my heavenly father. I try to do a little breathing exercise every night before i go to bed, I tell myself breathe in the grace of God breathe out the things of the world. Each time i breathe in I ask for Gods grace, mercy…….and as i breathe out i say breathe out whatever was my struggle for the day.
That love that keeps is what we need in us and flowing through us, as I read about the women at the well, I realized it flowed out of her, the living water and many believed. May this flow out of us.
I get this! I have looked for love in all the wrong faces. I’m the Samaritan woman, having been married 3 times, looking for someone to fill me up. I am happy to say I am not doing this any longer. Jesus is my soul satisfier, and this was such a great lesson to remind me of that!
Right now is my busiest time! There are still 9 more days of school (I teach 7th graders), and since I also manage our pool during the summers, I am there each evening cleaning and training lifeguards. I am exhausted! It was wonderful to be able to sit down for a few minutes last night while my boys were at youth group, and watch the video. It reminded me that even though I am busy now, soon I will be able to rest. Both of my jobs are unmistakeably gifts from GOD. I just need to be reminded every once in a while:)
Thank you so much for this encouragement! Because of past hurts perpetrated by His church, I am in a place where I find it hard to trust Him and all that He says I am. I, too, look to people & food for comfort. But, thankfully, He hasn’t given up on me like people have. I pray for eyes to see what I have instead of seeing what I don’t…….easier said than done sometimes. God Bless you.
This video thoroughly illustrated the objectives of this week’s lesson. I really didn’t want to watch it (so, thanks for begging us to do so, Renee), because I thought, “What’s the point? I’ve read the Chapter 3 lesson, so what more is she going to say in the video?”
Well, I’m happy to say that I realized another area of my life in which I need confidence as a result of watching this video; being satisfied with God’s love despite the “unconditional acceptance” I receive from others..
I’m a performing artist – an emerging performer, to be exact, so there are people in my life who are just beginning to see me in that realm. After I deliver an excellent performance some of those people who would only say a “hi”, or “by” to me, in the past, suddenly want a closer relationship with me. On the flip side, some of those closest to me begin to distance themselves from me. This hurts.
This hurts because I’m a people-person. I like being around others which is one reason why I enjoy performing so much, because it gives me an opportunity to share with others the gifts that God has given me. However, when I’m not in front of a congregation, or on-stage in front of an audience, I long for the friendship/companionship of those who accept me as “just-me-who’s-not-performing-today”. Sometimes I feel isolated, rejected, misunderstood, and used. My weakness is not having completely learned to be “satisfied” with God’s acceptance of me – all of me.
Hi, Beloved Renee, this is spirit – lifting. I have been so blessed. II is amazing that we fill our emptiness with unsatisfying junks. No wonder we go on without being refreshed, unsatisfied and unfulfilled – daily crying for SATISFACTION. I have shared it with my children, Christian Sisters in my Parish and at our BIBLE STUDY Group. We were so blessed. May THE LORD Bless the Ministry of Proverbs 31. We are praying for you. REBECCA
Fill me Lord Jesus. Please fill the empty places. Fill me to overflowing. Amen.
Thank you for that lesson. I know I need him thank you for showing me how to get to him or actually how to open my whole heart to him. He will do a great work with my heart!
I was so inspired as I watched your video this morning. What a wonderful way to begin the day…being reminded to put the Lord first in my life. Being told it is he who can and will fulfill me; he and no one else. No one else has the capability…just as I am not capable to fulfill anyone elses life. We all need the Lord. He completes us. He is the fulfillment of all. Thank you for your video Renee!
Renee,
Last Friday when I got the message to take a look at the comments from the first two chapters. I went to the first chapter and the date was January 23rd. That Friday evening my dad and I were talking about my mom. I came home and opened up the e-mail and January 23rd was my mom’s birthday. WOW! It was a sweet blessing for me.
Mother’s day is Sunday. The video was an awesome illustration! Yes, I want God to fill up the empty place in this single girl’s life and flow through me. Thank You Renee.
Just watched your video message three times over and underlined it with your message notes. All that you said and so brilliantly illustrated with the jar and contents has beenboth deeply encouraging and challenging. I give some of my time to helping in a Women’s Pastoral team in our church family and I desire to know deep in my heart this message so that I can encourageothers who I know are struggling so much in the search for unfailing love. Thankyou for being so faithful to God and sharing truths with us all in such a gifted and creative way.
I borrowed your prayer and Psalm 143 i feel this will help me very much, thanks for being what God made you to be.
Renee- I watched your video three (3) times and took notes- I so loved your analogy of Letting God Fill the Empty Places in Our Hearts! I especially so so so loved the empty jar being filled with Aster’s toys to replace what we look to. What stood out for me and finally made me get it and really get it is when you emptied the jar out of all those earthly things and started filling it with His Living Water- His unfailing Love! And I heard you say this: When we allow Him to pour His love and His promises into our hearts there are no empty places- by doing this we shift our dependence to the gifts to the Giver- and we can Thank Him for what we do have instead of longing for what we don’t have! I truly got it – and I finally understand, I really like show and tell – it really sunk in…. sorry I love your written words too- but I truly enjoyed this message. Thank you Renee for sharing your wisdom and knowledge and your Love for Jesus with us ladies.
Aloha from Hawaii oxoxoxox
Hi Renee,
Chapter 3 of the book and the video have helped me view myself and the relationships in my life differently… i usually feel like i invest a lot in my relationships and the other person doesn’t seem to care as much or work as hard at it as me … then i feel like there’s no point in even bothering to make new relationships because i assume everyone will end up ‘treating me the same way’…. so i tend to shy away from people … this message has made me realize that i have been putting too much pressure on my relationships …and the reason i feel this way is because what i need/ desire i can’t find in this relationships …. only God can satisfy me … this has definitely impacted my life in a big way … restored joy in my heart :).
This week’s message was powerful. I feel like I carry around an empty jar with me everyday. Especially with my husband and daughter. There are so many times I am afraid my husband doesn’t love me. There is a longing inside me to be loved unconditionally. I feel like whenever I make mistakes or disappoint people, I lose whatever feelings they might have for me. I know these feelings aren’t truth, but there is a constant battle inside me.
Dear Lord, I pray for your Spirit to fill the empty places in our hearts today. Help us to
see where our holes are and let us be open to You in filling them. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
“I feel like whenever I make mistakes or disappoint people, I lose whatever feelings they might have for me.” Pam, I struggle with the same- such an awful fear to go through life with! I pray that you and I both will find freedom from this lie in Christ!
Nancy,
I am praying for you. You are a child of our heavenly Father, and He will give you better blessings to make up for “the years the locusts have eaten.” Jesus loves you. I break bread and have juice in the morning to have communion with Jesus and it has brought me peace.
Hugs, Elizabeth
Amen Sister!!!
I used to look to friends and my spirital mother to fill me up with love and His spirit. I didn’t have confidence that Jesus is also MY JESUS 🙂 Through His strength, revelation and guidance, (and of course with the help of your book!) I am no longer looking to others to fill me up! I am free to be loved and satisfied and secure and accepted by Him!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so exciting to say that! I am so excited about Jesus, and love what He is doing in my life each and every day. Praise Him!!!!!! I would love to share this book with a friend if i win!!!! You are annointed Renee!!!
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me (YO)U, for the LORD has anointed me (YOU) to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me (YOU) to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.Isaiah 61:1
Thank you for aiding in releasing me from captivity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May God richly bless you, Chantell.
Hugs, Elizabeth
Thank you for your message today. I am seriously struggling with this because I have lost so much, having gone through a divorce from an abusive man. I keep praying that the Lord will show me what He wants me to do, but I still feel so empty and lonely most of the time. I know that things don’t satisfy, but having lost my family in the way it was and my home is so hard for me. I keep trying in my mind to figure out a way to get back just a part of what I had, but that does not seem possible now. I am thinking that somehow I need to surrender all that to the Lord. Will you pray that the Lord will heal this pain and emptiness and fill my heart with His unconditional love.
Thank you Renee for this wonderful illustration. I am using this study to help myself learn to be more confident as a person and more confident in God’s promises. I am also using your wonderful resources to try to help my son to be more confident in God’s promises. He is going through a really rough time in his college years and is doubting God’s love and promises. I plan to share your video with him tomorrow as I feel that he is looking for love, acceptance, and confidence in all the wrong places and just needs to think about how and with what he is filling his jar. My heart breaks for him in his struggles and he is losing faith as he feels that God does not hear him when he prays. My hope and prayer is that God will fill this emptiness inside of him and that he can gain confidence in himself and the truly amazing person he is and rely on God to give him true confidence. I struggle with some confidence issues myself, but right now my heart is heavy for my son and I have already shared with him the chart from your lesson notes in Chapter 1…When I feel…God says…Thank you for helping me try to help and encourage him. God bless you and your work!
Wow! (tears)
This so explains all the unhappiness in our world today. The culture has tried to fill these places with everything but God and nothing but Him will satisfy. Loved the post!
I’m learning so much about how God is the only one who can satisfy all my desires. I loved your analogy with the kids toy’s. It puts a picture in my mind of how when we are filled with God vs. when we try to fill our hearts with the things of this world. Thank you for this post as well as all your other posts!
Satisfaction has been tuff for me to find too – I am always looking for the wrong things to fill my jar and I now know it so now I am trying to consistantly seek GOD to fill me not all the other that never truly fills me. I dont like the empty feeling and dont want to live missing out on filling myself with God any longer. I love your book and its very helpful for me as I am working on myself. Thank you!!
Yes Lord! How I praise your awesome Name!
“When we allow Jesus to pour His love and promises into our hearts, there are NO empty places.” WOW!
(I wish I could BOLD that)
How your words spoke volumes to my heart.
This is confirmation!
The message is such a transformation as I put the gifts from God back into the proper priority. I am so extremely blessed but because my priorities have been displaced, life has been rather “chaotic” and everyone in the family suffers. I have felt so alone even with many great people around me as I fill the needs of others. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
The past couple of months, my refocus on Christ is slowing bringing daily life into proper balance. And I thank our Heavenly Father and your reaffirming words that…our hearts will become more and more confident through our relationship with Him. And the lasting security we long for will come each time we bring the empty well of our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to fill us with the promise of His unfailing love.”
A receptive heart…
Renee..what a powerful message. I think we all LOOK for things or people in our lives to fill our emptiness. I have been married for 21 yrs and I just have realized because of my bad relationships with my fathers I have always looked for my husband to fill that sadness and emptiness in my heart. I know no one but God can feel that void and emptiness. No worldly thing, no person, nothing but God. I battle depression because of guilt for holding others responsible for my unhappiness and neglect and abandonment from my fathers. I want so bad to put it all behind me and for God to heal and fill my heart. I know the only way to healing is through Him so I am praying that he will fill my heart with healing and forgiveness for the sad things stored in my heart. On the outside everyone thinks I have the perfect life, I work out, I dress nice…but if they only saw the inside. I don’t let anyone know my hurt. To everyone else my life is perfect. I pray that God will fulfill my heart and for the other ladies that need that too I pray for you that he will fill your hearts too. Let me remember he is not just a one time fill but a lifetime fill. When I feel empty he is the one I need to turn to. Thanks to all the ladies that share. Its nice to know your not alone in your feeling and we are all on this journey together!
Went back to listen again to the message, and when you put all the gifts back into the box was a great visual for me to keep, and then to focus on the Giver not the gifts goes along with the visual of dumping the gifts and focusing on the Giver~~~~Thanks for the great visual
Thank you Renee for this illustration. I am always trying to fill the empty places with people & get so disappointed with them & lose confidence in myself. I want God to fill my life & all the empty spaces & put Him first! I want to stop expecting people to fill my life when only God can do that!
Renee, Honestly I haven’t been doing a great job at reading this book, but since the beginning Iheard a message from Jesus telling me to go to AA for my alcohol struggles. I have been going reluctantly and tonight someone said something….”For our purpose there is but one ultimate authority-a loving God” I have always known God since I was a kid but this differnt. Then I got home and listened to your video…Ask God to show us how to let him pour himself into our lives. Hmmmm I didn’t ask but I think God is trying to tell me something. Thnaks. Still struggling but trying to stay positive that with God I can do this.
I thank you Renee for this wonderful, right on time message. The illustration resonated so well with where I have been and where I desire to be. This week I was actually struggling with feeling empty, unfulfilled & lonely. Your messsage gave me prespective…..I honestly thank you again.
This message reminded me of Romans 1:25 “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” If the gifts we have in this life are wonderful, how much more wondrous is our God, the Giver!?! Thank you for sharing this message 🙂
Thank you for the verse!
Thank you, Renee for the creative way of demonstrating how I attempt to fill the void in my heart, soul, and in life with things of this world rather than with God’s love.
What a great visual and a great lesson to learn. My mind raced through all the things and people and activities that I go to “fill” me up as I watched the video message. I’ve been going around and around with God here lately and I’m beginning to get a peek at what He is doing and where He is leading me. I know I’ll be daily walking with Jesus to see what He has in store for me.
Hi. I just wanted to say that this message was very timely for me. Coincidence? I don’t think so! I have been struggling the last few months about what God has called me to do. I have been told time and time again from many different people that I have the gift of music and that is my calling. The problem is I want to know that for sure for myself not just hearing it from others. I have been on our worship team for over 5 years and have just now taken a break to evaluate. To others it seems silly that I “can’t see” that what I am doing is of God, but I want to know that I am doing it for all the right reasons. Lately, I haven’t felt the joy I did when I first started. Frustrations seem so easily stirred and I needed to step back and refuel. I love to sing and play worship and praises, but I don’t feel like I can be up there, leading others if I am not totally filled. Thank you for reminding me that only God and His words can fill me back up; and that whether this is my calling or not, to be able to bring others into worship is a good place to be while I’m waiting to be called. God bless!
This was a powerful illustration. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things I’ve placed before God and sought to “fill” me. Approval from people, food, success at work, works at church, you pretty much listed them all in your video. Perhaps this is all God’s timing to free me from this. So, I thank you for “pressing” the issues…for making this ministry real and helping us see what we need…closer relationship with God.
I am determined to complete the book and study and to seek God more as I do.
It is SO good for me to hear this again..a dear friend of mine walked me through this (and introduced me to the love of my Savior for the very first time) a couple of years ago, but I still struggle often to be filled with His unfailing love and find myself lonely, depressed, and expecting people around me and my job to do what only my heavenly Father can. SO many comments here encourage me and bring me to tears…first, to know that I am not alone in my search and second, to realize that I am a vessel that needs to be constantly refilled. You see, my drive to “excellence” (for all the WRONG reasons) can lead me to believe that I only need to be filled “once” and that with that I should not need to be refilled…but that is SO wrong…my heavenly Father is waiting for me to go back as often as I need to, and He doesn’t think less of me because I have to…in fact, it’s EXACTLY what He wants…for me to be dependent on Him to heal heart wounds, fill loneliness with His presence and to give worth to something that is weak and “of no worth” by my own critical standards…my dear friend always says I’m too hard on myself…that I need to show myself grace and I know she’s right…I think that is easier to do when I am close to God, who extends His grace and unfailing love to me! Struggling now, but okay as I “walk it out.”
Sandy,
This is so true, just as we need to drink water daily to fulfill our physical needs, we need to refill our spiritual well daily. Jereiah 2:13 God says; “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
We can’t do it on our own we can’t fill outselves because as Renee points out we tend to fill our cisterns with worldly things and then there’s no room for God.
Oh Sandy, I can so relate about how perfectionism affects our relationship with God! “my drive to “excellence” (for all the WRONG reasons) can lead me to believe that I only need to be filled “once” and that with that I should not need to be refilled…” A LIE that I have believed in my own life all too often. Thank you for putting it into words for me to identify it in myself!
Renee. I feel the Holy Spirit moving within me as I just finished watching this video. I am convicted about trying to satisfy my need for love and acceptance thru my husband, children, friends and especially posessions. He should be fulfilling my empty spaces and not a new iPad or pottery barn furniture. Thank you for this powerful
Message.
What a WONDERFUL message Renee!! Your book and videos have been such a blessing to me. Thank you so much for sharing from your heart.
Hi Renee. Today’s topic is exactly what I’ve been struggling with most of my life. I’ve been a Christian for many years, but I still seem to look at “worldly things” to try and fill my empty places. I know deep in my heart, the Lord is all I need, yet I find myself going “back”. I’ve written 2 books and magazine articles convincing myself that since it’s about God, surley it is His will. I’ve entered contests and searched for the “right” job. I want to truly trust God for all that I need and that He will fill any void in my life. Thank you for re-confirming that with today’s video. I was just told this evening about your website and it is such an answered prayer , because this topic is exactly what has burdened my heart this past month.
Praise the Lord!! Now I get it!! Thanks so much for the visual aid!!!!
Thank you for the video. I needed it like so many others. I am determined to shift my dependence from the gifts to the gift giver. It won’t be easy but I don’t want to keep living like this. My life isn’t horrible, but it isn’t what I want for me and I know that it isn’t what God has for me. Thanks again!!
Thank you for today’s video. The past two days have been such a struggle for me to get through. I have felt that I am not worth anything to anyone. I give of myself so much that I don’t know how to regroup and get through things. I feel that I have been selfish in wanting some me time. I work full time and do about 90% of the work at home too because of my husband is partially disabled. I am trying so hard to give of myself totally to God but I just cannot seem to let go completely. I know He is there for me waiting with open arms. I have on and off given my complete trust to Him over the years but I need to remember that even when things are going smoothly I still need to trust and rely in Him. By doing this, when things are not going well it will be easier to go to Him. I know I am all over the place but I think it has helped me to type things out especially since I have done nothing but shed tears of frustration today. Thanks Renee 🙂
Liz, I could have written this exact comment, even down to the partially disabled husband and feeling selfish for wanting me time. I am right there with you, sister. Praying for you!