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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

Letting God Fill the Empty Places in Our Hearts

In chapter 3, I share how “our hearts leak and will always end up empty when we find our worth in anything but who we are in Christ. Our value is not measured by what others think of us—but we surely live like it is, don’t we? It’s almost as though we wake up every morning with an empty jar, like Sam, and walk around holding it out to people or things, hoping they will fill us…”

In today’s video message, I talk about the things we look to and illustrate how we can allow God to fill the empty places in our hearts…

Please click the arrow below to watch.

(Optional) Download my “Message Notes” in a PDF format here or in a MSWord doc here.  We want you to just watch and let God speak to your heart the first time, but we also knew some of you will want the notes. I even included blanks for you to fill in. 🙂

UPDATE: It’s been quite a week at our house…a trip to the ER with my mom after a bad fall Sunday, I woke up sick on Tuesday and my son Andrew (14) broke his collar bone that same afternoon. Wednesday we found out I had bronchitis and that Andrew’s break was much worse than we expected. Fortunately, we are doing a good bit better today. God’s kept us close to His promises and provided strength and encouragement through so many of your prayers and notes. THANK YOU!!

Connecting in Community: I’d love to hear your thoughts about this week”s video message and your answers to questions at end of Chapter 3.  If you left a comment earlier in the week, let’s talk about questions we hadn’t answered yet. Like 4-7. And how the video message ties into the question about finding our “worth-ship” in Christ.

Just click  “share your thoughts”  right below this post and do just that – share your thoughts, I love to hear them! And I’ll share mine too.

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Comments

  1. I so know this is what I do!!! Just got back from two weeks away from home helping the family of a 95 yr old companion I used to care for. Her daughter had moved her to her home and the transition to Assisted Living has been tough. She flew me there and I cherish every day I had. i am home again and feel empty, I felt I had a purpose again for these last two weeks…I am searching for what to do now with my life but at 55 there are not many jobs and I love the elderly and would love to help and find a purpose in being an advocate for them, helping the families through the transition. I just don’t know how to go about it. In the meantime, I have felt empty. I did find my self worth in helping this family when it truly was a gift from God that I even went. I long for him to show me his will for my life.I definitely was finding my worth in people, and places. I am empty feeling like before I went and need for God to fill this ever so empty place of having no purpose. Thank you for the video Renee, I am a visual person and it was a good analogy of what I am doing. I pray for God alone to fill me with His unconditional love!

  3. The video was amazing….and so true about how we try to fill ourselves up with everything except what can truly fill us. I wish i had the time to read all the post, but I know from glancing thru them that other women struggle just as I do. I do have an insatiable appetite for the word of God, but I have trouble keeping scripture in my memory. My life has been full of trials and tribulations, but I know that God will never fail me….He has proven that to me. I am looking forward to reading more post and going forward with the bible study. Thank you Renee for sharing all of this, and for all you ladies that help each of us grow with your comments. God bless.

    • So glad you took time to watch this week’s video message. Sometimes I have a hard time with memorizing too. Did you get to read Monday’s post with great suggestions for memorizing scripture? There were some great ideas that have helped me too!

      • I did get it…thank you. I just need to put some of the suggestions to work for me.

  4. It’s amazing how your video is speaking to my heart about the very issues I am having now. I seek approval from my boss at work or from others, but only Jesus can fill my emptiness. It seems the more I try to impress my boss, the worse things get. I loved your examples of filling the jar and how it demonstrated how we can search to fill our life with other things but there is always an emptiness becasue they fail us or do not completely satisfy our needs. God never fails.

    • I can relate so much to trying to impress my boss. And the same happened to me…where the more I tried to impress her and do silly things like go out of my way to say hi, the more things worked in the opposite direction. And I knew it was obvious. One day we did an activity at work where we all had to write down each others strengths and areas to work on and someone wrote “needs good work acknowledged” on mine and not that we all don’t wish for that, but it was interesting that had not been said about anyone else in the activity…to me that just really stood out to others about me. I feel like when we look to others for approval, etc we give them a place where they don’t belong. Or we kind of idolize them and then maybe people feel this and feel burdened by your expectation of them to be your all in your life? And that’s when the relationship goes sour. The more I realize God is my main relationship, my other relationships get better. Let’s quit looking to others to make us feel accepted, happy, peaceful, important, admired, etc. They can’t, they’re just a human like you. Only God can do that!!!

      • Amen May! I have had to learn that in my life. Oh, what freedom comes when we let God be our all in all! The less expectations we put on others the purer and true our love for others will be. It will not be to get something from them but to give to them.

        Karen C

  5. Wow! Perfect timing to watch this video! It just hurts to visually see how I have chosen to live!
    Thank you so much! Makes more sense to me and I have a lot of work to do! Looking forward to the following chapters!

  6. That was really really neat. Thank you so much. This chapter speaks more to me Than any other so far; I have been like a little puppy just running from person to person begging for attention 🙂 thanks to some amazing guidance and amazing GRACE and slowly learning that God isn’t disapproving of me constantly,I’m learning! It takes a longtime to unstop that artery between your heart and head tho, just sayin. A definite process. Thanks for this study.

  7. Well, women, I want to encourage you to REALLY take inventory of your life. I have often heard a message like this and thought, yes, I have a lot of things in my life, but Christ is at the center. I busied myself with ministry and work at the church, almost to kind of prove my point. Alas, what I have discovered, is that serving at church can also become one of the things we put into that jar to try and feel full, valid, wanted, admired. Such a sutle thing – the very water that fills us may compel us to serve initially, but when we become discontent and resentful when the work we do does not produce the desired results or admiration, then I realize, wait a minute – this thing I am filling myself with is not Christ, it is not unconditional, sacrificial love, this is a substitute.

    But I am healing, I am now being filled with the REAL thing. Unfortunately, God had to strip a lot of stuff away from me, for me to realize this. I hope and pray that’s not what it takes for all of us.

    HIS water is like none other. It ALWAYS results in peace, not always in removal of pain, but inner assurance of His love even when everything is falling apart.

    • I truly can relatte to your post. I use to think serving in the church was what it would take to fill me up too. A personal relationship with Christ is much better than trying to impress others by all we can do.

  8. Renee,
    I loved the video message! I’m praying for you to feel better soon.
    Thank you,
    Suzanne

  9. Wow! How true! So many people hurting. Like the song that says, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.”
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. You are an encouraging blessing.

    • This is so true Teresa! Yes, too many are looking for love in the wrong places. I often find myself looking for validation through other people, thinks, accomplishments, awards etc… I’m glad Renee reminded us that we can get the true unfailing love from God and only God up above. The Samaritan woman at the well was looking for a temporary fix. She didn’t realize that Jesus was the solution to feel every void in her life! In the same way, Jesus wants to give us his Living Water so that we will never thirst again!

  10. I loved this video and the visuals used to get the message across! I pray that God will use this video to touch the lives of many who need their jar filled with His unfailing love! I want to show this video to my family and friends who I know will be blessed by it too. Keep doing the amazing work you are doing for Jesus! God bless you!!

  11. I really enjoyed this video! It reminded me of a devo I do with my youth with a jar, rocks, pebbles, sand, and water. I look forward to sharing this with my Monday School ladies :)!

    <3 Heather

  13. Wow. That was an amazing object lesson. It hits especially hard because I have lived it! We all have. I long to allow God – the giver of the gift, to fill me and to stop looking to others to tell me who i am or if Im worthy. I know whose I am to and to Him I am worthy. All the way my savior leads me – what have I to ask beside?
    Thank You Renee.

  14. Very good visual to go along with teaching. Definitely never thought about emptying everything else so God could completely fill. Have always struggled with fitting in, but especially so since my marriage ended. During it I was isolated, partly by my husband & partly because most people wouldn’t believe that Bobby was capable of being abusive. Afterwards I found I didn’t fit with unmarried women, since I wasn’t able to have kids (which ended up being a mixed blessing as all I ever really wanted to be was a mother (started “adopting” when I was 8) but saved me & them from having to deal with my ex — he wouldn’t have wanted the kids, but would have done everything in his power to keep them from me) didn’t fit with younger married women, & was to wounded to want to even think about attending a group that included men, even if most of the participants were my age or older. Once developed night blindness became even harder to connect with anyone outside of work & then I was laid off & moved to a large community where only knew my dad who I am living with & other relatives 1/2 hour a way. Once again didn’t fit & then being home bound last several months really showed me how few true friends I had & how nothing else really filled the empty spaces. I am really struggling, but God is blessing my feable efforts the last few weeks & have been reminded that He does not ask for the best I can give on a very good day but only the best I can give on that day, still tend to hesitate but feel so much better when make any attempt to connect with God regardless of how miserable or exhausted I feel. Since this study started have been (most mornings) reading index cards with Scriptures & inspirational sayings on them while waiting for topical medication to dry. It is amazing what a difference that makes for my outlook! I really thank God for you Renee & this study,especially for letting me find & participate in it.

  15. Thak you Rene’e I lvoed what you said about only God can fill us up and make us feel secure and confidant. i struggled with insecurities, control issues and lack of self-esteen for nearly 20 years of my adulthood. Once I found Jesus almost 7 years ago, I have foungd the lasting security, peace and joy, thw world has nothing that can touch what God has given me on a daily basis, yes, is sill struggle with self doubt sometime because God is asking me to do something that only He can do through me. he is the one that a glean my strength, couraga and ability to accomplish what he needs done. It is not by me and as I grown in Him I am finding the woman God has called me to be. I love getting to know her more. It has changed my marriage and the lives of our children. Praise and glory to God!!!

  17. This video was such a blessing to me. I mentioned that I suffer from anxiety in an earlier post, and when anxiety consumes so much of one’s time, there really doesn’t seem to be any room for Jesus. I found that to be true in the past. However, when I made the concentrated effort to not only believe in Him but to follow Him, I realized just how much help I needed to allow Him in more of my life. With the help of therapy and a low dose SSRI, I am able to calm the anxiety I feel enough so that I can begin to hear Him more than I ever could before. I am taking part in this study, I am taking part in daily devotions, and most of the music I listen to is Christian Contemporary. It has made such a tremendous difference in my life. I also have a goal this year to become minimalist. This will be a challenge, but I feel the physical purging will aid in the mental purging and allow more room for what is important, Jesus and love.

    • Amen to that. I too have been striving to purge my life of many things. I retired last year and started doing so and as you say sometime life gets in the way. I made a good start and then lost some of my momentum. I just need to continue to stay in His word daily and fill my life with only the things that bring Him the glory. All the rest will follow if I do that.

  19. After listening to Renee this morning and then re-reading chapter 3 and doing questions I went out for my daily run. I have a shuffle that pretty much plays songs on random, however mine are sorted by Author right now.
    As we all know God is always ready to speak to us if we will just listen. Imagine my satisfaction and joy when I heard the song, “Come to the Well” by Mary James. God is so good.
    If you have not heard it I am sure it will speak to your heart as it does mine. I have posted a link but if that does not work then just Google, “Come to the Well by Mary James” Should come right up.

    http://www.myspace.com/maryjames/music/songs/come-to-the-well-30168775

    Blessings to each and every one of you

  20. Oh how we are blessed to be doing this bible study. I watched the video many times and every time teared up while you poured the water. And how interesting that yesterday I decided I needed some Christian music on the radio and the song that came on was the one you put on FB. The one that goes something like “loves like a hurricane…how he loves us.” Blessed be!!!!!!