Have you ever thought of the phrase, walking after emptiness?
Recently while reading the book of Jeremiah this phrase jumped out at me. In Jeremiah 2:5 the Lord asks, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me, and walked after emptiness and became empty?”
What does walking after emptiness actually mean? We are either walking after emptiness or fullness. Walk is the biblical expression for fellowship and obedience that is lived out through our actions. To walk can be translated to live. Just as the Israelites sought after empty idols as their guide, you and I can do the same in our daily lives as we walk after things that don’t fulfill. If you and I walk after emptiness we will become empty. Whatever we walk after, we become.
What does walking after emptiness look like in today’s culture and are these some areas of pursuit?
- Embracing a world view
- Seeking vanity that won’t last
- Striving for power
- Desiring fame
- Social media status
- The love of money
- And more. . .
Jeremiah 7:23-24 continues to say, “But this is what I command them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels, and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”
If you and I want to move forward not backward, we should live in a way that honors and pleases God. Ephesians 4:1 reads, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. . .”
Walking worthy of the Lord is a step-by-step process, one that begins by just focusing on the next step. Sometimes we become discouraged in the process because seeking victory seems overwhelming. Yet, if we desire to be the people God wants us to be, our focus only needs to be on the next step—and nothing else. We must walk moment by moment, hour by hour, and then day by day. Yes, we should have the end goal in view, but all He asks of us is to take the next step. We must be obedient to what He is asking for the day before us, and He promises to care for what lies ahead.
If you are trying to walk worthy of the Lord, you may feel that success is elusive. You probably find yourself good for a few days but then tripped up. Remember though, you are in the process of perfecting your walk. You are no different from anyone else. In fact, we all need the same power that comes from Christ to walk worthy of the Lord. It is His divine power that enables us!
How would you describe your walk? One in pursuit of emptiness or fullness? You and I can’t change our past, but we can choose our future. We can choose from this day forward to strive for excellence and commit our days to the One who holds our future.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Press on. Reach forward toward the goal, your upward call. These words are encouragement for your movement to be forward not backward. Continue to walk in fullness and leave emptiness at the back door, not seeking the filling of the world, but of God.
Journeying with Him,
Jessie