Holes

Augustine said: "you have made us for thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless, until they find rest in thee."

I usually think of the unsaved when I ponder this saying. Last night I was thinking of how it applies to all of us.

Have you heard the term, a God shaped hole? Have you ever thought about what your hole is? Are there things you do or seek or long for that aren't very good for you? That might be a clue.

Is there an empty place in me that I'm trying to fill with something other than God? Does that explain the thing with cheeseburgers?

Do we leak? Are there times we are filled with the Holy Spirit and other times where we are running a little low and the hole shows up again?

I don't want to be restless; I want to rest in Him. I don't want unfulfilled longings. I don't want the cheap, counterfeit, all purpose hole filler.

Think on this final verse from the poem The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson:

Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?
"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."

God pursued the man. He finally stops as the sound of God's steps surround him, the shade of His hand caresses him, tender words are spoken to him and he realizes that in pushing away (dravest) God's love, he pushed away the very thing he always wanted.

I long for you almighty God. Help me to give you the whole of my life.

Philip