Empty?

Empty

“Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God …they shall not appear empty:…” Deuteronomy 16:16

Recently I read a book called LEADING ON EMPTY by a pastor who finally recognized that he was struggling with burnout and depression. In the last several months I have met so many people, talked with numerous Christian leaders, listened to stories from friends, who have all said the same thing -- "I just feel like my tank has run dry ... I feel so empty."

Well, my brother, it that is you right now, then today's devotional is just for YOU! Consider it a gift from God received from the pen of one of my greatest heroes of the faith, Pastor Bob Alderman. It is from the Keswick Devotional book, "Real Victory for Real Life." If you'd like a copy, I'd love to send it to you. The normal cost is $14.95, but if you respond to today's email with your address, we will send it to you for $6.00.

Perhaps you are like many of us who have experienced an emptiness in life, a futile struggle to at least feel fulfilled and experience some token of fulfillment. The path before you seemed uncertain, the achievements behind you seemed insignificant, and the energy within you seemed so terribly inadequate for the desires you nurtured in your spiritual journey.

You may have raised the question with spiritual counselors concerning such emptiness and your desire to be free from it. You probably have been before our Lord in what seemed to be impotent prayer as you struggled for an understanding of your emptiness, an answer to it, and a deliverance from it.

Do you think the hand of the Lord seems heavy when He orders us concerning a time of accountability – or perhaps “three times a year.” And how about that order that we “shall not appear empty.” Is our Lord being unreasonable or threatening?

Or is He exposing and expressing another aspect of His mercy and provision? The statement seems so demanding, so exacting and potentially so embarrassing.

But is it? Above the human anxiety that such an imperative may produce, can we sense the gracious and loving provision of a heavenly Father whose demands are always an expression of His provision. The Father who expects accountability is the Father who expresses confidence in our ability to faithfully account.

And we go further. He does not expect us to “appear empty.” And being the all-knowing Father that He is, He sees in advance that we need not be empty, and that indeed we are not empty. We are recipients of His loving demands and His abundant provisions.

And so what may appear to be an embarrassing threat is in fact an enriching promise. My Father knows that I need to appear before Him, but not empty. His advance knowledge is now my present encouragement. And that is fullness and victory. --Dr. Robert L. Alderman is Minister-at-Large at Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, VA. He is a popular conference speaker at America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 31; Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26

Great Quote: We have no sufficient strength of our own. All our sufficiency is of God. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might. Matthew Henry