How Are You Filling Up Your Life?

 

How Are You Filling Up Your Life? 

| the answer + C. S. Lewis quotes |

Hello, Sweet Friend! 

Happy almost end of February! How was your week? Did you read anything fun? 

This is kind of an impromptu post. I wanted to share something today and then I saw this one quote by C. S. Lewis (my favorite author) and really wanted to share it with you all today! Hopefully this will be pretty short (I saw hopefully because you never know with me, XD)! 

I am also wanting to start taking weekly blog post requests on my Instagram and in the comments here (I might not do this every week but I think this will be fun nonetheless)! So if you have a topic you’d like to see me cover or you have a question for me, please comment down below! 

Now onto the post and the quote that started this all! 

Not made for this world  

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” —C. S. Lewis 

I read this quote earlier today (or yesterday as when this post was written), it just stuck in my head. Then I was looking on Pinterest for book quotes (for a project I wanted to do on Instagram) when I saw that quote again. 

Again it tugged on me. 

C. S. Lewis has been a favorite author of mine for a while. I love how he thinks and puts things into words which I have felt or tried to express but didn’t have the words. 

This quote got me thinking about being a Christian and living in this world. There is an emptiness inside all of us. An emptiness for something that we cannot fill by ourselves. We may try but its like filling up water in a strainer—the water just runs through. The same thing can happen in our lives. We can try pouring things of this world—fame, money, sin, people, idols, books, relationships, theology, identity, and so much more (though not all of these things are bad in themselves. It is the heart behind it and the replacing of God that makes it an issue)—but it never will fill us up. No matter how much we put in, we just end up feeling even more empty and drained than before. 

You see the problem is that we can be trying to fill up on something that is not God. There is an emptiness inside of us, an emptiness for God. We need God to have a full life. We need God, the creator of the universe, the creator of me and you, the provider of all we have, the savior of the world, our savior, our king, our Lord, our God. We need him in our lives to not be empty. We stop feeling empty when we have God in our lives. 

A short Q&A

Why does my life feel empty? Why do I feel empty? 

It's because God is not in it. 

How do I change that? How do I feel full? How do I have Him in my life?  

As I was writing this, I had a song pop up in my mind. It's from a song called Dear August by Noah Cyrus and PJ Harding. 

Save me, looking for someone to save me

…

please don't let me fall

'Cause I don't know where this road is headed anymore

Do you feel like this? If so…

Jesus said…”Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I give to them will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14) 

How do we do this? We pray to God. We believe in Jesus. We invite Him into our lives…

“…because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9–13) 

I also highly recommend checking out the song: Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham 

How are you filling your life? 

But maybe…

I’m already a Christian. I don’t know why I still feel empty if God is supposed to fill me? 

Let me ask YOU a question. How are YOU filling your life? 

God can’t fill your life if you aren’t putting Him in your life. How can He fill up your life if you don’t make that time to have Him in your life? God wants to fill you up with Him. He wants a relationship with you! You can't have a relationship with Him (or anyone) if you don’t take time to know Him and be with Him. 

God loves you. You are His child. He wants to be close to you. He wants to know you personally. He will change your life if you let Him. He wants to reveal Himself to you. 

To do this you have to let Him in. Let Him into your life and your heart. Spend time with Him. Pray, talk to Him. There is no better way to talk to Him than to pray. Isn’t that why we pray—to know Him? Read the Bible. He gave us a book to know Him by and to understand Him by. How can we know Him if we don’t read about Him? How can we know who He is and His character if we never look and study the book of Him that He has given us? 

Go after Him! He wants a relationship with you but He can’t do it without you letting Him into your life. Let Him in. Go after Him! Peruse Him! 

Who wants a one sided relationship? When you have a friend—a real friend—a way you can tell they are a real and serious friend is that they come to you (not just with their problems) but to check in on you, encourage you, support you, and just to be with you. 

Now imagine that you have a friend but the only time they come to you is when they are upset, someone has offended them, or they are just in a bad mood and want you to fix them. That isn't a healthy relationship nor a good one (a real friend will be able to tell you about their struggles but that won't be the focus of every single conversation). I think this is how a lot of people approach God. They come to Him with their problems and complaints and nothing else. This isn't wrong exactly (I always come to Him with my struggle and problems) but I think if it's the only reason you go to Him that's when it's not the greatest. If you only come to Him with problems then you probably aren’t building a relationship with Him. You probably are not thanking Him for all the good He has done in your life. You probably aren’t spending quality time with Him and letting Him speak to you and through you. 

You can’t have a good relationship this way. You need to let him be a part of your life. He wants to be a part of your life. He wants to be the most important part of your life. 

“Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,

    but you have given me an open ear.

Burnt offering and sin offering

    you have not required.

 Then I said, “Here I am;

    in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

 I delight to do your will, O my God;

    your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:6–8)

He wants a relationship with you and He will fill up that empty space in your life. You just have to let Him in and fill up your time with Him.

“How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

    I come to the end—I am still with you.”  (Psalm 139:17–18) 

Practical ways to build a relationship with God 

This post in big part came to me after someone asked me on Instagram for tips for being better at reading the Bible. I gave them tips (which I’m going to include here) but it stuck with me. Spending time with God is such an important part of my day (the most important part) so it hurts my heart when people don’t also spend time with God. 

I can’t function if I don’t spend time with God first thing once I wake up. I have tried it before and I am just a grumpy Scrooge that is snappy and impatient and it's not good. If I spend time with Jesus then I’m good and can have a wonderful day, but I can notice it now physically and mentally when I don’t spend time with Him. This maybe isn't for everyone, this is just what happens to me and I can’t imagine not spending time and being with God. It's so important and I want others to take their relationship with God seriously. This wasn’t an instant thing for me to learn, it took years of building a relationship with God for me to feel this way. But you can never reach this kind of relationship if you don’t start pursuing a relationship with Him now. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO START A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD! He wants to be in relationship with you, you just have to let Him in. 

8 Tips for making the time to be with God (these are all things and tips that I have done and do that help me build a consistent relationship and reading time with God. Note that once you get consistent with reading the Bible and you turn it into a habit, you will not need reminders and tips to remember. It will naturally become a part of your day—as long as you start being consistent):

• Set a timer when to read 

• Don’t read any other books (or watch any shows) until you read the Bible 

• DO NOT go onto Instagram (or any social apps) until you read the Bible 

• Set up a reading plan or checklist

• Have it be a part of your morning, evening, or night routine 

• Journal when you read 

• Set sticky notes to read the Bible and to pray 

• Start a prayer journal and write down things to remember to pray about (this is something I recently started doing and I love it! It's also a great way to be able to look back and see all the prayers God has answered and to see your growth as a Christian and person) 

These are my 8 tips! You do not have to do all of them (or any of them if this isn’t an issue for you). I do highly recommend EVERYONE to make sure to spend time with God BEFORE you go onto anything social media. I say this because social media can be a time and energy suck. It can make you tired and depressed (not for everyone but it can happen). 

I think it is really important to focus your eyes on Jesus first before going and having your eyes on the world and all things social media. Take time to focus on the most important thing, get life and encouragement from Him and then go ahead and be on social media. This is probably my top tip for anyone who has social media and who wants to spend time with God (just to spend time with Him or because they feel empty). 

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BEHOLD PEACE Update: 

The first Bible study in BEHOLD PEACE  is on Esther! Esther Chapter Three, the third post in the Esther Study (Chosen, Favored, & Planned by God), is now published and ready to read!  

I’m so excited to be starting this Bible study with you! I hope you check it out! Make sure to come back to BEHOLD PEACE this Monday because we will be reading and discussing Esther chapter 4!!! 

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More posts…

• The Chasm  

• 1 year blogiversary!   

• Annie May On The Train (a short story)

• Broken Ballerina: Celebrating Writing My 4th Novel     

• January 2023 Book Reviews  

• My Favorite Books 2022  

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Discussion Time

Thank you so much for reading this…very long post. I was aiming for this to be short, but my sister is right in that I can’t write short things, XD! Thank you so much for reading this! I hope you find some encouragement in this post! 

I want to hear from you! Meet me in the comments and tell me what you thought of today’s post? Do you struggle with feeling empty? Are you a Christian? Do you have any tips or ways you make sure to spend time with God? Is there a topic you want me to cover? I would love to chat and pray for you! 

If you have any questions or want to talk (or have a prayer request), make sure to comment down below! Be sure to subscribe to this blog to stay in the know because I post new content here every week. ALSO, If you want to hear more about my writing and what I’m reading, make sure you are subscribed because I am doing special updates for BLOG SUBSCRIBERS ONLY! 

XOXO Moriyah 🤎