Finding Refuge in Empty Places

Wide open spaces have always spoken to me, settled my soul, stilled the waters of anger, competitiveness, and justice that always seem to be spilling out of my mouth and mind. By nature, I do not have a gentle personality. I lust for action, a fresh challenge, or new experience. I crave food, sometimes numbing myself with late night snacks...instead of embracing what God might give me for satisfaction.

When I can't get those, I settle for entertainment: streaming YouTube clips of comedy, sports highlights, or favorite movie scenes. 

God rarely speaks to me in the midst of entertainment. 

And I usually don't feel him through my angry or action driven desires.

I feel him most in the empty places of the world.

• In the wide open spaces of my home: Indiana.

• The views of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

• The rushing water of a river or the waves of the ocean.

• Being with people who. are empty: the poor in spirit or people broken by life circumstances

These are the places I find God and receive from Him. 

"Everything that seems empty is full of the angels of God." - St. Hilary (4th century bishop)

For many of you, maybe you’ve found religion to be empty. I’m with you. I’m running from religion, but I’m still searching for faith. 

The human condition is to avoid emptiness. We seek to fill ourselves with what we can control. In the 21st century, we've never had more power over our own place than we do now with technology and innovation.

Have we mistakenly filled ourselves through our own methods when God might want us to search for Him in the mysterious empty places?

• Time in silence and solitude.

• Time with friends and neighbors, where we are actively tending to the empty places in each other's hearts.

• Time with the poor in spirit.

God’s not waiting for you in places of power and control. He’s waiting for you in the empty wilderness. 

Go explore.