Not too long ago I talked to a friend who had hit a couple of rough patches in her life. The difficulties have affected several areas of her life at once. The people she thought she could rely on for support have not been helpful. Her description of what she is going through made me very sad. She simply stated she was empty inside. My heart ached for my friend as I listened to her express her emptiness. I had few words of comfort to offer her.
Later, sitting at home, I thought about Christ’s prayer for His disciples on the night before His crucifixion. He knew they would endure hours of emptiness in the next few days after He died. He knew because of His death His disciples would be faced with uncertainty, grief, loneliness and fear. So He prayed for them saying to His heavenly Father, “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (John 17:13).
Even now as my friend endures emptiness, Christ prays that she will receive the full measure of His joy through the Holy Spirit. Christ will fill empty hearts with the divine joy that comes from His Father. I need to join Christ in His prayers and ask the Father to fill her empty heart with His divine joy through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2