Willing to Be Filled

By Amy Layne Litzelman –

“May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.

Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God.”
Ephesians 3:19

Something about a brimming pot
grabs my spirit.

It is eternally right that a vessel fulfill its purpose.

It’s now fall and I’ve been cleaning out flower pots and gardens. But thinking back over the last several months, I gained so much joy as a result of digging and arranging, planting and dreaming.

Over the summer I would often sneak away to the patio or front porch for mini-vacations. Containers overflowing with beauty and fragrance drew me to sit nearby where my soul found rest even as it soared. The life growing all around me echoed a call to be filled and flourishing.

In the same measure, an empty pot speaks to me of transition.

A dear friend of mine creates what she refers to as “message art” – miniature paintings of everyday items used by the Holy Spirit to frame a lesson in her journey. She often includes a few words to emphasize the point she learned.

A couple of years ago, sensing my place of transition and longing, she gifted me with one of her hand-painted cards. Clay pots overflowed with herbs and flowers, even as one container lay empty on its side. In the bottom corner was penned, “…but available.”

I set the card on top of a bookshelf right inside my prayer room, where I’d see it often. Each time it caught my eye I would breathe, “Yes, Father. Empty, but available.” Just those words soothed my longing heart, knowing this transition would pass and take me to new places.

Seasons come and go. Summer doesn’t last all year, but neither does winter. In the midst of transitioning from one place and time to another, we often feel empty and unfulfilled. Even a bit isolated and vulnerable. Here we get to the bottom of tough issues.

In our emptiness the Holy Spirit often tests our willingness:

·         Am I willing to be used in ways I would have never thought of?

·         Am I willing to fulfill a destiny I don’t yet know?

·         Am I available to His plans and purposes?

·         Am I available for more of God, Himself?

Did you realize God wants you to experience measures of His love that you won’t fully understand? Measures of love beyond earthly insight, but that will complete and fill you with His very own life and power? Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 echoes the heart of a Creator willing to die to make this available:

“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.

Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

If you feel empty, turn your heart forward. Don’t look back in longing or despair, but ahead in anticipation and willingness. Rest, knowing this season is for a purpose as surely as the next will be.

At the perfect moment, God will fill you with Himself yet more, making you complete in new ways.

If, on the other hand, you’re in a season of overflowing with Christ’s love and life, don’t be surprised when others gather around you. Jesus is a perfect example of the magnetism of a vessel full of the Spirit.  Just as a brimming flower pot draws you to sit nearby, a brimming life also draws those longing for rest and joy. Those searching for peace and purpose.

Share your fruit. Allow your leaves to be for healing. Allow your destiny to be enjoyed by others.

Photo credit for yellow planter/pots:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/borderfilms/4472496433.