Many years ago, my husband’s cousin lost her little boy in a tragic accident. He was playing outside their apartment and fell into a hole dug by a utility company. The hole was left uncovered, and rain had accumulated in it overnight. Sadly, the little boy drowned.
We all probably know similar stories with similar results. One of the things I often here in a situation like this is, “I feel like I have a hole in my heart.” I heard this phrase used just recently, and it made me wonder how to help someone fill the hole in their heart.
As I write this, the people of five or six states are suffering the loss of friends, relatives, homes, possessions, and businesses from the tornadoes. I feel certain they feel like they have a hole in their hearts. I feel for them, but that does not fill their losses. These are physical holes in the heart, but what about the spiritual holes in the hearts of mankind?
In looking at Scripture, I can find ways to fill the hole that are both good and bad. I can find examples of some who filled themselves with the right things and some that filled themselves with the wrong things. Some fillers seemed like the right thing but turned out to be the wrong thing.
In Luke 15, we read about the young man known as the prodigal son. Young and impetuous, he left the comforts of home with his share of the inheritance and traveled to a far country. There he wasted his money in “riotous living.” One day he realized his money was gone and his friends had left, and he had no way to make a living. He was ashamed to go home to the “I told you so,” so he went to work feeding pigs. Scripture says, “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him” (Luke 15:16 KJV). Until this young man was filled with remorse and repentance, he would still have that “hole in his heart.”
In Acts 5, there is a story about Ananias and Sapphira. Wanting to do something good, but doing it for the wrong reason, has them lying about the amount of money they received from the sale of their property. While others were filled with gratitude for what they had and filled with willingness to share, these two were filled with deceit. Peter’s response to Ananias was, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3).
The disciples found themselves filled with sorrow, but it wasn’t the right kind of sorrow. Jesus had warned these men about what would be expected of them when He left them. He even warned that some would be killed, and the murderers would think they were doing the right thing. Jesus was concerned that He had told them He was going away, but none of them asked Him where He was going. He told them, “But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart” (John 16:6). It was another of those frustrating moments for Jesus that the disciples just didn’t get it. They were filled with sorrow, but it was for the wrong reason.
When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he told the Jews that they had killed Jesus, killed their prophets, persecuted the apostles, hated people, and were the worst kind of hypocrites. They told the apostles they could not preach to the Gentiles because they were afraid the Gentiles would accept the Gospel and be saved. They were filled with hatred.
So, just what should fill the hole in our hearts? It is clear to see that filling it with greed, an unholy lifestyle, lies, deceit, and sorrow for the wrong things in this world will not fill us with what will sustain us.
Jesus said if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will be filled (Matthew 5:6). Paul wanted the Romans to be filled with joy and peace in believing (Romans 15:13). In verse 14, he says he is convinced that they are full of goodness, knowledge, and the ability to admonish one another. Do you realize that we cannot admonish someone else until we are full of goodness and knowledge?
The prodigal son went home, not to “I told you so,” but to the open arms of the father. Ananias and Sapphira were not so blessed. They did not repent, and they died in their sins. The disciples eventually gave their lives for the cause of Christ, all but Judas. The Thessalonians received the Gospel, and they also suffered for their Christianity.
Paul gives us a conclusion to filling the hole in our hearts. He says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:15-18).
Whatever your circumstance, fill your “hole” with the Spirit, the Gospel, and everything good and right in the sight of God.
Sandra Oliver