Every person has an empty place and everybody needs to fill it with something.
Most of the time, the hole is manageable. We try to fill it with food, video games, movies, music, purchases, possessions, relationships hobbies, interests and such. If the hole is considerable, we may fill it with pornography or gambling. For some people, the empty place is gaping. They pour in alcohol and drugs trying to fill it up. For some people, there is more empty space than life and they take their own lives.
But we know that space can't be filled up
What is the only thing that can fill up that empty place?
Right off the bat, we read Jesus' great promise.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
~Matthew 5:6.
Sort of mysterious. Filled with what? Something satisfying, presumably. Something which will give permanent rest to that hunger we seek to fill.
Remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water,
~John 4:13-15
All our distractions can curb, but not satiate our hunger for the Spirit. "Give me this water," says the woman, and if we too hunger and thirst after righteousness we shall likewise be filled. But again, what are we filled with? Jesus clarifies his sustenance in the parallel Sermon on the Bountiful Temple Mount.
And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.
~3rd Nephi 12:6
Occasionally, I just feel the Spirit so strongly that I don't want or need anything else. Mainly this has to do with very special experiences involving Christ.
I suppose the answer is simple. We're all seeking pleasure and a minimum of pain. The greatest pleasure of all is being loved. And the greatest love of all is Christ's love. And the best way to minimize pain is through Christ's Atonement. Christ is literally the best way to fill your whole.
But this promise is even greater than that. We are promised not only satisfaction in this life, but even ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
~John 6:51
What are my mechanisms for coping with emptiness?
Most of the time, the hole is manageable. We try to fill it with food, video games, movies, music, purchases, possessions, relationships hobbies, interests and such. If the hole is considerable, we may fill it with pornography or gambling. For some people, the empty place is gaping. They pour in alcohol and drugs trying to fill it up. For some people, there is more empty space than life and they take their own lives.
But we know that space can't be filled up
What is the only thing that can fill up that empty place?
Right off the bat, we read Jesus' great promise.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
~Matthew 5:6.
Sort of mysterious. Filled with what? Something satisfying, presumably. Something which will give permanent rest to that hunger we seek to fill.
Remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water,
~John 4:13-15
All our distractions can curb, but not satiate our hunger for the Spirit. "Give me this water," says the woman, and if we too hunger and thirst after righteousness we shall likewise be filled. But again, what are we filled with? Jesus clarifies his sustenance in the parallel Sermon on the Bountiful Temple Mount.
And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.
~3rd Nephi 12:6
Occasionally, I just feel the Spirit so strongly that I don't want or need anything else. Mainly this has to do with very special experiences involving Christ.
I suppose the answer is simple. We're all seeking pleasure and a minimum of pain. The greatest pleasure of all is being loved. And the greatest love of all is Christ's love. And the best way to minimize pain is through Christ's Atonement. Christ is literally the best way to fill your whole.
But this promise is even greater than that. We are promised not only satisfaction in this life, but even ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
~John 6:51
What are my mechanisms for coping with emptiness?
- Looking at young women (not in a pornographic kind of way, but in a window-shopping sort of way. That's got to stop. You're looking for a напарница not perpetual eye candy.
- Video games (ESPECIALLY LWG)
- News
- Writing in my story. Imagining myself in a different situation.
What are some better mechanisms for coping with emptiness?
- Family history
- Listening to sacred music
- talking with loved ones
- Memorizing scriptures
You know what some of my favorite words ever are?
Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.
~2nd Nephi 26:25
SEARCH NOT FOR EYE CANDY BUT FOR A НАПАРНИЦА
SEARCH NOT FOR EYE CANDY BUT FOR A НАПАРНИЦА
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