People have always struggled when they turn away from God. I’m sure you have seen it yourself, perhaps even experienced it yourself.
When we walk away from the living God, we create a spiritual vacuum inside of ourselves that we will attempt to fill with something else. Nothing else will satisfy the place in our hearts that belongs to Him. I’m not even sure why we would choose to turn away in the first place!
1. Turning from God is empty.
When people turn from the Lord, they do not find freedom. They find emptiness, bondage, and leglism. The Bible warns us of this pattern.
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13, NKJV).
God alone is the source of life, hope, and spiritual satisfaction. Walking away from Him leaves a thirst that cannot be quenched by anything the world offers.
2. We try to fill the emptiness with substitutes.
Israel turned to idols to fill the emptiness left by rejecting God, but those idols gave them nothing in return. It remains the same today, as people chase after possessions, pleasure, or the approval of others, hoping these things will satisfy their inner needs. Yet the Bible reminds us, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21, NKJV). These substitutes may promise fulfillment, but they will always leave us empty. Always
3. Only God can fill what was made for Him.
Nothing else can take the place that Jesus has in your life. As a born-again believer, you are designed for Him alone, and when you surrender to Him, you find what your heart has been searching for.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35, NKJV).
The satisfaction we long for is found in a real, abiding relationship with Jesus, not in the things we often reach for when we feel empty.
If you sense a void in your life today, the solution is not to fill it with temporary distractions or lesser loves. It is to return to the One who created you, who loves you, and who alone can satisfy the deepest places of your heart. He is ready to fill your life with His presence, peace, and purpose when you turn back to Him.
