Empty Yourself to be Filled

God doesn’t force us to let him be part of our lives.  Read this wonderful poem by Thomas Edward Brown, touted by Madeleine L’Engle, that calls us to make room for him so that he can fill us with himself. Are we too full of ourselves to make room for him?

Image by Dave LZ, provided by Unsplash via Wix.

One of the few poems I have ever memorized appeared in a novel by Madeleine L’Engle, A Ring of Endless Light.

The poem talks about our need to make room in our lives for God.  God is a gentleman.  He is always ready to interact with us, but he does not force us to let him be part of our lives.

That means that if we want to see God acting in our lives, we have to take a step of our own.  We have to ask him and make room for him.

God is a gentleman – he doesn’t force us to let him be part of our lives

It reminds me of the healings Jesus did.  So often, when Jesus encountered people in need, he didn’t automatically deal with their problems.  He honored their autonomy (“agency,” we call nowadays) and waited for them to make a choice as to whether they wanted him to be an active force in their lives.

For example, in Matthew’s Gospel, two men called out to Jesus as he passed by in a crowd, “Son of David, have pity on us!” (Matt. 20:29-34)

He called them to himself and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

It was only when they explicitly asked Jesus to intervene in their lives that he reached out with compassion, touched their eyes, and healed them.

Empty yourself and be filled with God

Way back in 1875, the poet Thomas Edward Brown knew we could fill our lives with so much activity that it might crowd out any room for God.  In our 21^st century digital age, we can fill our lives not only with constant activity but also with nonstop video entertainment that can distract us from even considering whether God might want to be a part of our lives and what it would look like if he was.

Brown challenges us to consider what we need to do to allow space for God to act.

Here is his poem:

Indwelling

By Thomas Edward Brown

If thou could’st empty all thyself of self,

Like to a shell dishabited,

Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf,

And say, ‘This is not dead’,

And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou art all replete with very thou

And hast such shrewd activity,

That when He comes, He says, ‘This is enow

Unto itself – ‘twere better let it be,

It is so small and full, there is no room for me.’

Published in Old John and Other Poems (1893);

first published anonymously in 1875 in the serial Plain Talk

under the title “No Room.”

We can fill ourselves with ourselves and be “replete with very thou,” or we can empty ourselves and let God in.

Letting God fill us is a process

I don’t think this emptying happens all at once or is “one and done.”  It is a process.

Every day, can I make a little more room for God in my life?  Every day, can I allow Jesus to step in and help me be more of what I was meant to be?  Every day, can I allow the Spirit of Jesus to fill me a little more?

If you are skeptical, just ask him and see what happens.  If you are weary, receive his rest.  If you are overwhelmed, receive his strength.  If you are discouraged, take courage.

In Mark’s Gospel, before the healing occurs, the people in the crowd say, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you” (Mark 10:49)

We too, can take courage.  God is calling us, with compassion.  We just need to make room, so there is a place for him in our lives.

What step can you take to let God in a little more today?