Filling the Hole

Psalm 23, ESV

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

You all know Psalm 23 well, I'm certain. You probably associate it with funerals. Reread it refusing to think of death. This psalm is about life and the needs we face daily--like confronting the emptiness inside of us. I have a hole within me and so do you. We want. We need to be restored. We need help when we fear evil. We need comfort. We need goodness and mercy in our hearts, our minds. I have tried to fill my hole with lots of good and bad things in my life, but nothing has worked, nothing has filled the hole except Him.

I've tried family, friends, boyfriends, music, movies, television, books, school, my career, my husband, and my children. I've even tried sex and alcohol. I've also tried my reputation, accomplishments, and good deeds. I've made these things idols at times; however, I was always disappointed. Nothing worked. Nothing sustained me. Nothing became an addictive habit either, and God gets all the glory for that. Yet some people do form addictions. Those people fail to walk away from the idols. Those folks fill the hole over and again with the same things, things that don't work. There's hope for those people, too.

Reread Psalm 23 seeing how David makes it known that God will comfort you when you walk through the valley. His rod and staff will comfort you? Think about that metaphor for a second. If you are a sheep walking towards danger, is your shepherd is going to comfort you with his rod and staff? No, he will jerk you backward as quickly as possible to keep you from killing yourself. And, strangely enough, that is your comfort. It might be painful, but He will save you from self-destruction if He is your Shepherd. You and I will then be comforted, as excruciating as the process might be.

My challenge to you is to look at this Psalm as being written about life, not death. Think about how God is there when we are doing okay and filling our lives with Him and when we aren't doing okay and are filling our lives with idols. He is there from beginning to end. He is the only one who can fill empty souls satisfactorily.

What's filling your hole? Is it God? Or idols?