As children, we are equally innocent and accepting. Children generally accept every life circumstance, no matter how wonderful or terrible, as normal until someone else enlightens them about their situation being an exception. I’ve heard many adults remark about revelations regarding their childhood that they didn’t realize until years afterward.

As adults, we often have to bridge the gap between the way we imagined our lives and the present condition. We find ourselves in the midst of painful struggles that we never anticipated. Other times we find ourselves suddenly living a different existence than we are accustomed to. Even if the change is positive, it is still stressful. We can find ourselves operating outside of our comfort zone in the midst of changes initiated by a change in our marital, employment, health, or other status. Thanks be to God, even when situations are unfamiliar, scary, or uncertain, our beloved heavenly Father is still with us. He doesn’t leave us simply because He’s permitted or presented us with a different situation. Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” What’s more, God is the great I AM, which means He is multi-faceted and all-powerful. God is a creative problem-solver. Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that our mindset is not the same as God’s: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” 

When we feel empty, the Lord is awaiting the opportunity to fill us up. Ephesians 3:16-19 says “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.“

When we are seeking God’s hand to fill a void we can follow David’s examples in Psalm 13 where he followed these steps:

1. Acknowledge your feelings (v.1-2) – Tell the Lord how you feel. He sees your heart and knows it anyway! Sometimes we think God wouldn’t approve our feelings of being overwhelmed by disappointment, failure, grief, guilty, sorrow, or regret. Psalm 139:23 says “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;”.
2. Ask for God’s intervention (v.3-4) – Invite God into the midst of the situation. Acknowledge that apart from Him, you can do nothing. John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
3. Act in faith (v.5) – Let God know that you trust Him implicitly, even when it doesn’t seem logical to do so. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Trusting God is only achieved through the activating God’s Holy Spirit that lives within us. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
4. Anticipate movement/change (v.6) – Prepare your spiritual eyes to see God constantly at work in your life, on your behalf. 1 Corinthians 2:9 tells us “However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him.”