I finally get it

Several years ago, a teacher at my school was suffering through a painful divorce. She and I talked often since I'd been through it, too. Her husband was in ministry, and I could see that she'd been an excellent helpmate for him. Deeply spiritual, she would talk to me about how her faith was growing and how she was learning to let God fill her void.

During a chat one day, she said something like "You know how it is...the Lord becomes your Husband." I nodded in agreement with her. But in my mind I was thinking, I have no earthly idea what she's talking about.

I never thought about that conversation again until recently. Now, years later, I think about how sad it is that I didn't seek God with passion during that season of my life. Yes, I prayed, but I didn't seek His will. Instead, I asked Him to give me what I wanted and then plunged right in, never really listening to what He had to say about it. Oh, the heartache I could've avoided if only I had sought Him....

I'm told that when one writes a book, it's ideal to speak from a platform. I've been praying about this, and at last, I think my platform is springing forth out of the ash heap. My passion is to see others seek God in times of pain and tragedy. We must seek Him every day, even when life is going smoothly.

But when the times get hard and the fear, discouragement, and loneliness set in, for some reason it's so tempting to run somewhere else besides Him. I don't know why that is, but if I've learned anything, it's that He is always there, no matter what. We can't always say that about the people we love and depend on, but we can say it about Him. He will not fail us under any circumstances.

My most popular post of all time continues to be one I wrote on this subject, about how He fills the void in my life. People need to know this about Him--that He is waiting to fill us and bless us abundantly. But we have to make room for Him.

I want hurting people to know that He's the one they can turn to when their situation becomes desperate. It's futile to look for our worth, identity, or fulfillment in another person, but looking to the Lord Jesus is a different story altogether. He is the only One in Whom we can find strength, love, rest, redemption, grace, mercy...you name it, He provides it. There is no way we'll be shortchanged when we let Him fill the void. He wants to make up for all we've lost, as well as all we never had in the first place.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.  Psalm 9:10