Filled by the Hand of God
by Dr. Ken Matto
(Job 8:9 KJV) (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
One of the worst things which can happen to a writer is to have writer’s block. That means no matter how hard you try, you just cannot come up with a specific topic to write on. Having an empty head can either be a blessing or a curse. It can be a blessing in that your mind is at ease and has no anxieties running around in it which can cause the rest of our body to go crazy. An empty head can also be a curse, in that if you are a writer or you are facing a situation, then you will have no plan of action to face your problems head on.
This reminds me of an episode in the life of Elisha found in 2 Kings 4. Elisha met a wife of one of the prophets but she had only one pot of oil to make food for him. It was probably a very small pot and that was why she could hardly make any food plus she was widow which gave her lower social status than the other women. So Elisha told her to gather as many empty vessels as she could, she was even to borrow some from the neighbors. Then a great miracle took place, as she began to pour oil into those empty vessels, they began to fill up, until every one was filled with oil. This was a great miraculous blessing because the limit on the amount of oil she received was not based on the generosity of God but was based on the amount of vessels that she had.
There is a great spiritual principle applied to this story. Remember the similar situation when the Lord Jesus Christ multiplied the loaves and fishes. The miracle was not limited by Christ but was limited by the number of people and baskets which were available. There were twelve baskets left which were filled with food from the small lunch the little boy had. There is also another verse in Scripture which teaches us that God will fill us.
(Psa 81:10 KJV) I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. When Israel came out of Egypt, God had guided them every step of the way. In the Psalms verse we are reading that God told them to open their mouth wide and He will fill it. Of course, the spiritual principle in view is this: When we are the most empty God can do the most filling!Many times Christians are unable to really experience the blessings of God because we are too filled with ourselves. If we look back at Psalm 81, we are to open our mouth if we want God to fill it. How much of God do we want in our life? Strange question but pertinent! Many times we Christians tend to think of ourselves as independent with abilities to take care of our own problems. This type of Christian hardly opens their mouth. If we are to experience the filling of God, then we are to open our mouths wide as we can. Spiritually speaking, it means that we need to empty ourselves of us, and then God can begin to bring our life into order. Two of my favorite verses in the Bible are found in Luke 3.
(Luke 3:4-5 KJV) As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. {5} Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
When one looks at these verses we see that every valley shall be filled and every mountain shall be brought low. When the valley is filled and the mountain is lowered, that means there is going to be straight road. One of the reasons that we seem to have so many problems in our lives is that we are not opening our mouths for God to fill it. We allow too much of the world to fill it and we allow too many theologians or preachers to fill it. When a person is empty and is filled with the world, they will follow the world. When a person is empty and is filled by theologians or preachers, they will follow them. When a person is empty and filled by Christ, they will follow Christ. Remember when God gave that principle, He told Israel that He would fill them but they refused His filling and allowed the world to fill them and the result was disaster.
One of my favorite hymns, “Rock of Ages” has a stanza which says, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” This is the way we come to the cross, empty. Once God saves us, then we must come to Him as a little child, a child is empty because they have not yet begun to be touched by the world. When we come to the Lord empty, then He begins to grow us in the Faith, we then are being properly prepared to face the enemy. The widow had only one pot of oil but when God came on the scene, He filled every cruse she was able to muster. As empty as we may be, God is the inexhaustible God and as much as He gives us, we can never run His supply out. Many times we hear about the Lord Jesus Christ emptying Himself to come to Earth to die for His Elect. What about the Christian emptying themselves? If we are to emulate Christ, then part of that emulation must be the emptying of ourselves of everything which can come between us and Christ. What are we holding on to which we should be letting go of? We need to empty ourselves so God can fill us. Once we do that we will experience the abundant life. (2/20/04)