What causes a person to feel empty?

Written by Lee Stevenson, sorry I am not the best editor.

I am going to discuss how sin effects us and how it effects our relationship with God. How to identify when we are being drawn away from God because it is not always obvious. I am also going to discus the cause of that empty feeling and how to fill it. Many now days wonder why they feel so empty.

When we start sinning it can draw us away from God which leaves an empty spot in our hearts that cannot be filled. It can draw us away from God and cause us to do many things we should not do to try and fill that emptiness. We often times will false reason believing the things were are doing are ok. So it is not always obvious when we are sinning. We have to keep in mind the heart is very deceptive and we have a tendency to false reason with ourselves. How can we tell when we have deceived ourselves or if others are deceiving themselves. Our fruits speak more then words. What are the fruits we are producing. Are we producing good fruits or fruits of the flesh. I am going to discuss the effects of sin and how to identify when we are being drawn away from God and what we can do to correct it.

We cannot trust ourselves because the bible warns the heart is deceptive and desperate. It can drive us to do things we should not do. Jesus warned out of the heart comes wicked reasoning so we should not let our heart guide us. When we sin it makes us lose the ability to tell when we are falling short of God. God examines the heart and knows even the hidden motives we may have. Because we have let ourselves become blind we may be sinning and have become unaware of it. In order to correct this we need to search God’s word and let it guide us and not rely on our own understanding. If we do not, we risk becoming hardened and unaware when we are sinning.

(Hebrews 4:13) ¹³ And there is not a creation that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account.

(Proverbs 21:2-4)  ² All of a man’s ways seem right to him, But Jehovah examines the hearts.  ³ To do what is right and just Is more pleasing to Jehovah than a sacrifice.  ⁴ Haughty eyes and an arrogant heart —The lamp that guides the wicked is sin.

(Jeremiah 17:9, 10)  ⁹ The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate. Who can know it? ¹⁰ I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, Examining the innermost thoughts, To give to each one according to his ways, According to the fruitage of his works.

(Matthew 15:17-20) ¹⁷ Are you not aware that whatever enters into the mouth passes through the stomach and is discharged into the sewer? ¹⁸ However, whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and those things defile a man. ¹⁹ For example, out of the heart come wicked reasonings: murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a man; but to take a meal with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

(Psalm 36:1, 2) Transgression speaks to the wicked one deep within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.  ² For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much To detect and hate his error.

(Proverbs 16:2) All of a man’s ways seem right to him, But Jehovah examines the motives.

(Jeremiah 17:10) I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, Examining the innermost thoughts, To give to each one according to his ways, According to the fruitage of his works.

Just because the world may accept something as not being wrong does not make it right. If we are putting our trust in man or our own reasoning then we could start losing our ability to know when we are sinning. When we start becoming unaware of our sin we become alienated from God which can create an emptiness in our hearts that cannot be filled. Often times this can lead to someone committing more sins in an effort to try and fill that emptiness. Yet because they no longer have the love for God they will never fully be happy because they cannot fill that emptiness. We are imperfect humans, this is why the bible tells us that God should direct our steps and it does not belong to man to direct our steps. God created us, he knows our minds and hearts better then anyone. This is why Jesus in his sermon on the mount told us how to be happy. (Matthew chapter 5). When we fall into a sinful nature it can start effecting our physical health. From the stress involved.

(Psalm 38:3-6)  ³ My whole body is sick because of your indignation. There is no peace within my bones because of my sin.  ⁴ For my errors loom over my head; Like a heavy burden, they are too much for me to bear.  ⁵ My wounds stink and fester Because of my foolishness.  ⁶ I am distressed and extremely downcast; I walk around sad all day long.

If we find ourselves no longer able to understand the deeper things in the bible and find we only take in what would be milk, which an infant would take in we need to take note of it. If we find we are making the same errors over and over we need to take note of it. It indicates we are falling away from God and need to correct the behavior that is causing it. If we start accepting the ways of the world it will draw us away from God. The world is in turmoil now because they refuse to let God’s word guide them. Would we want our lives to be like those of the world?

(Proverbs 26:11, 12) ¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit, The stupid one repeats his foolishness. ¹² Have you seen a man who thinks he is wise? There is more hope for someone stupid than for him.

(1 Corinthians 3:1-3) 3 So, brothers, I was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. ² I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough. In fact, neither are you strong enough now, ³ for you are still fleshly. Since there are jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and are you not walking as men do?

(Ephesians 4:17-19) ¹⁷ So this is what I say and bear witness to in the Lord, that you should no longer go on walking just as the nations also walk, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They are in darkness mentally and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensitivity of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having gone past all moral sense, they gave themselves over to brazen conduct to practice every sort of uncleanness with greediness.

(Jeremiah 10:23) ²³ I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.

If we continue to sin it will harden our hearts towards Jehovah God and Jesus. He will stop hearing our prayers. We are living in very difficult times and very confusing times. Why make it more difficult by turning away from God. We need him now more then ever to guide and protect us. If we find we are losing the desire to study God’s word and to apply it in our lives it is an indication we need to do our best to start to take in his word daily and to persist in prayer. We need to take note of what is causing us to feel this way and what we can do to take corrective actions. We are to keep our minds focused on the things above and not on the earth below. The bible warns a fleshly man does not accept the things of the spirit of God. If we start falling away from God we lose the blessing of having the holy spirit guide us and we become separated from God. If we find we are being separated from God and start feeling that empty feeling, reading Jesus sermon on the mount. It reminds us how we can find true happiness. We will lose the peace in our hearts that protects our hearts and our minds and we will lose our thinking abilities. By turning back to God we can regain that peace and the hope the bible gives us.

(Isaiah 58:14-59:3) . . .For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.” 59 Look! The hand of Jehovah is not too short to save, Nor is his ear too dull to hear.  ² No, your own errors have separated you from your God. Your sins have made him hide his face from you, And he refuses to hear you.  ³ For your palms are polluted with blood And your fingers with error. Your lips speak lies, and your tongue mutters unrighteousness.

(1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4) ¹⁴ But a physical man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined spiritually. ¹⁵ However, the spiritual man examines all things, but he himself is not examined by any man. ¹⁶ For “who has come to know the mind of Jehovah, so that he may instruct him?” But we do have the mind of Christ. 3 So, brothers, I was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. ² I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough. In fact, neither are you strong enough now, ³ for you are still fleshly. Since there are jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and are you not walking as men do? ⁴ For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” but another says, “I to A·polʹlos,” are you not acting like mere men?

(Romans 1:20-23) ²⁰ For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their senseless hearts became darkened. ²² Although claiming they were wise, they became foolish ²³ and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and birds and four-footed creatures and reptiles.

(Isaiah 57:20) ²⁰ “But the wicked are like the restless sea that cannot calm down, And its waters keep tossing up seaweed and mire.

(John 14:26, 27) . . .. ²⁷ I leave you peace; I give you my peace. I do not give it to you the way that the world gives it. Do not let your hearts be troubled nor let them shrink out of fear.

(Philippians 4:5-7) . . .. ⁶ Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.

When you are close to God your heart is protected and you have a certain inner peace no matter what you have to endure. When we lose our reverential fear of God then we have no peace and we will develop many anxieties and fears. This can farther blind us to the truths in the bible. We will have a form of Godly devotion but prove false to it’s power. If we find our actions are not matching our words and the things we do are not showing we love God then we are proving false to the power of God’s word. This means we are becoming like the world. We are told the world would be destroyed. Surely this is not the course we would want to follow. Those of the world have no hope. They live in constant anxiety, and fear of the things occurring. If we fall into sin then we can no longer see the God news of the kingdom of heaven and have no hope but the hope we put in ourselves and the world. We see the condition the world and people who are in it are in. The whole world lies in the power of the wicked one. Is this where we would want to put our faith and trust? What hope does the world have? We can be a slave to the world which is a sin or we can be a slave for God which gives us hope in a brighter future. The world and the things in it are passing away. So would it not be better to put our faith, hope and trust in God? If we find we are making the same errors over and over again it indicates we need to take corrective actions and search God’s word on how to prevent that in the future. We have been warned the wages sin pays is death. If we lose our ability to recognize sin then it can lead to us dying much sooner then we may have.

(Romans 3:11-18) . . .. ¹² All men have turned aside, all of them have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not so much as one.” ¹³ “Their throat is an open grave; they have deceived with their tongues.” “Venom of asps is behind their lips.” ¹⁴ “And their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood.” ¹⁶ “Ruin and misery are in their ways, ¹⁷ and they have not known the way of peace.” ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

(Jeremiah 5:21) ²¹ “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people: They have eyes but cannot see; They have ears but cannot hear.

(2 Timothy 3:1-7) 3 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, ³ having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, ⁴ betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. ⁶ From among these arise men who slyly work their way into households and captivate weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, ⁷ always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.

(2 Corinthians 4:3, 4) ³ If, in fact, the good news we declare is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, ⁴ among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.

(Romans 6:16) ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

(Proverbs 26:11, 12) ¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit, The stupid one repeats his foolishness. ¹² Have you seen a man who thinks he is wise? There is more hope for someone stupid than for him.

(Romans 6:23) ²³ For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sin starts out as desire. Now desire is not always wrong. For example we desire to eat, drink water and to have a home to live in. It is when we start coveting things or start desiring wrong things like immoral sex, or have greed for money or power. The bible even warns gluttony is a sin in other words anything in excess can be a sin. If we are letting things consume our time to the point it is taking from our time to worship God then we have left our desire become sin by leaving it crowd God out of our lives. Sin can also cause this to occur. If we find something is crowding God out of our lives then we need to do all we can to correct it. The bible tells us all things are clean to the defiled and faithless. They declare they know God but the works they produce would show otherwise. So we will discus the works we are to produce. The bible tells us you would recognize the righteous and unrighteous by their fruits. We need to pay attention to our fruits and the fruits of those we associate with. Are we producing fruits that will give God glory or are we producing bad fruits.

(1 John 2:15-17) ¹⁵ Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; ¹⁶ because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. ¹⁷ Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

(Isaiah 3:10, 11) ¹⁰ Tell the righteous that it will go well for them; They will be rewarded for what they do. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked one! Disaster will befall him, For what his hands have done will be done to him!

(Proverbs 21:4)  ⁴ Haughty eyes and an arrogant heart —The lamp that guides the wicked is sin.

(James 1:15) ¹⁵ Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn sin, when it has been carried out, brings forth death.

(Titus 1:14-16) . . .. ¹⁵ All things are clean to clean people; but to those who are defiled and faithless, nothing is clean, for both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.

(Matthew 7:15-20) . . .. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.

(Galatians 5:19-21) ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are plainly seen, and they are sexual immorality, uncleanness, brazen conduct, ²⁰ idolatry, spiritism, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dissensions, divisions, sects, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these. I am forewarning you about these things, the same way I already warned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.

Repenting is a daily thing as we take in God’s word it helps us identify areas we need to work on. This is why the bible says we need to continue renewing our minds , which means we need to take in God’s word daily. God would have his laws read frequently to Israel to deeply set them in their hearts and minds. If we start desiring the world and the things in the world it can draw us away from God and crowd his word out of our hearts and we will be prone to making bad decisions. Israel did this in the past and God said they were causing his good name to be smeared. By taking in his word daily and keeping it written on our hearts it will protect our decision making and help guide us through these troubled times. If we start being a part of the world we will start trying to please people instead of God. This can cause us to start becoming blind to sin and cause us to lose our desire to draw closer to God. We also need to take note of how we use our time. The bible tells us to use our time wisely. Is our time being used in a way that we will glorify God and draw closer to him or are we getting caught up in the fleshly things of the world?

(Matthew 4:17) ¹⁷ From that time on, Jesus began preaching and saying: “Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”

(Psalm 51:9-12) . . .And wipe away all my errors. ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, And put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one. ¹¹ Do not cast me out from your presence; And do not take your holy spirit away from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation; Stir within me a willingness to obey you.

(Mark 4:19) ¹⁹ but the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches and the desires for everything else make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

(Romans 12:1, 2) 12 Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. ² And stop being molded by this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, so that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(1 John 2:15-17) ¹⁵ Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; ¹⁶ because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. ¹⁷ Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

3 If, however, you were raised up with the Christ, go on seeking the things above, where the Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Keep your minds fixed on the things above, not on the things on the earth.

(Matthew 6:25-27) ²⁵ “On this account I say to you: Stop being anxious about your lives as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. Does not life mean more than food and the body than clothing? ²⁶ Observe intently the birds of heaven; they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are? ²⁷ Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?

(James 4:7, 8) ⁷ Therefore, subject yourselves to God; but oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you indecisive ones.

(Ephesians 5:15-20) ¹⁵ So keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, ¹⁶ making the best use of your time, because the days are wicked. ¹⁷ On this account stop being unreasonable, but keep perceiving what the will of Jehovah is. ¹⁸ Also, do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but keep getting filled with spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, praises to God, and spiritual songs, singing and accompanying yourselves with music in your hearts to Jehovah, ²⁰ always giving thanks to our God and Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Galatians 1:10) ¹⁰ Is it, in fact, men I am now trying to persuade or God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be Christ’s slave.

(Proverbs 3:6)  ⁶ In all your ways take notice of him, And he will make your paths straight.

By being aware of our sinful nature and admitting we sin and not trying to justify our actions we can draw closer to God. In doing so we can truly know what love is because God is love. Many friendships and relationships end because people try and find many friends or get in relationships because they feel something is missing. They keep repeating this behavior and try filling by turning to the world what only God can fill. Jesus referred to it as a thirst and the waters of life . Wealth, material things, many friends, drinking alcohol, and any other things people pursue trying to fill that thirst will only leave them looking for more and never happy because the thirst can only be filled by putting our trust in Jesus and God and getting to know them better. This will also prevent us from being deceived and enslaved by another. Many are living in a spiritual famine now days. We have all the spiritual food in God’s word and have no need to experience excessive spiritual thirst or hunger. If we do not fill it with God’s word then we will try and fill it with the empty things of the world. By taking in God’s word and drawing closer to him we can find true peace and happiness.

(John 6:35-39) ³⁵ Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not get hungry at all, and whoever exercises faith in me will never get thirsty at all. ³⁶ But as I said to you, you have even seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never drive away the one who comes to me; ³⁸ for I have come down from heaven to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none out of all those whom he has given me, but that I should resurrect them on the last day.

(2 Peter 2:17-19) ¹⁷ These are waterless springs and mists driven by a violent storm, and the blackest darkness has been reserved for them. ¹⁸ They make high-sounding statements that are empty. By appealing to the desires of the flesh and with acts of brazen conduct, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for if anyone is overcome by someone, he is his slave.

(Amos 8:11) ¹¹ ‘Look! The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘When I will send a famine into the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But for hearing the words of Jehovah.

How do I recognize when myself or others are producing good fruits from their works? The bible tells us by the works and their fruit you would recognize who worships in truth. Some of these fruit we can read about in Galatians 5:19-22. It discusses the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit. If we are not producing the fruit of the spirit and are producing the fruit of the flesh such as having out burst of anger, or we find ourselves getting intoxicated then we are producing fruits of the flesh indicating we need to correct some of our behavior. But I am mainly going to talk about the works and fruits of the lips. We produce the fruit of the lips by telling others about God and Jesus and their amazing qualities and helping them to draw closer to God. So we need to ask ourselves is our words and actions getting others to repent and put their trust in God. By professing our faith to others and teaching them about God it helps to build our faith and we store up treasures in heaven. This also helps us to keep our eye focused on the things above and keep us from being drawn away from God.

The bible tells us not all claiming to to have faith will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one doing God’s will is who will enter. So faith alone is not adequate we also have to have works that show our faith. For example when someone is having hard times do we offer them scriptures to help comfort them. Do we offer them an ear so they have someone who will listen to them? Do we put the interest of others before our own as Jesus did. Do we tell others about our faith and help to build up their faith? Do our actions glorify God? Do we let our light shine before others by teaching them about God and by our actions are we showing we are not part of the world setting an example of faith for others? Are we teaching others about the love of God and are we inciting others to do fine works. If we do these things it will help keep our eyes on the things above, it will draw us closer to God and we will find true happiness.

(Hebrews 13:15, 16) ¹⁵ Through him let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that make public declaration to his name. ¹⁶ Moreover, do not forget to do good and to share what you have with others, for God is well-pleased with such sacrifices.

(Matthew 6:19-23) ¹⁹ “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If, then, your eye is focused, your whole body will be bright. ²³ But if your eye is envious, your whole body will be dark. If the light that is in you is really darkness, how great that darkness is!

(James 2:14-17) ¹⁴ Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it? ¹⁵ If any brothers or sisters are lacking clothing and enough food for the day, ¹⁶ yet one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but you do not give them what they need for their body, of what benefit is it? ¹⁷ So, too, faith by itself, without works, is dead.

(Matthew 7:21-23) ²¹ “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. ²² Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’

(Matthew 5:14-16) ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city cannot be hid when located on a mountain. ¹⁵ People light a lamp and set it, not under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. ¹⁶ Likewise, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens.

(Hebrews 10:23-25) . . .. ²⁴ And let us consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works, ²⁵ not forsaking our meeting together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you see the day drawing near.