7 Bible Verses About Feeling Empty Inside
Snow is sparse on the muddied earth, and I’m not so sure I want to get out of bed and face the day. I should probably find my Bible and look up some Bible verses about feeling empty, but I lack the motivation.
Instead, five simple words scroll across my mind. They’re the words of Leanna Tankersley: “Each day we begin again.”
My soul needs these words today. I need the simple reminder to get out of my bed and begin again. God’s mercies are new every morning. Every time I begin again, I trust in these mercies to fall fresh on me.
7 Bible Verses About Feeling Empty (and How to Get Filled)
Twenty minutes later, I’m drinking black coffee while chickadees flutter around the birdfeeder outside. I open my Bible, and I let God’s Word wash over me.
Much to my surprise, his Word refreshes my soul. I am reminded that I’m not as alone as I sometimes feel.
Bible Verses About Feeling Empty
If you feel empty inside today, I invite you to soak in these Bible verses about feeling empty, too. God wants to speak to you and fill you with life through his living Word.
1. Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
2. Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
3. Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
4. Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
5. Isaiah 66:13
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you . . .
6. John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
7. Jeremiah 31:3
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Let’s Apply These Bible Verses About Feeling Empty to Our Lives:
I might not have the strength to dig into that manuscript or climb the hill behind the house today. But I can breathe.
I can pause.
I can count the good gifts all around me.
As I name them, something stirs inside me. Some part of my heart was asleep, but naming the gifts wakes me up.
I write them down today: The peach glow on the eastern horizon. Wide eyes looking into mine as I sit by the window at the break of this new day. Sparrow at the bird feeder. Steaming coffee. Advent wreath on the kitchen table.
You’d think counting the gifts might get old.
Somehow, it rarely does.
I keep showing up at the same window and stretching myself to find new gifts to count. And every single time, naming the gifts lifts my head.
Hope rises like mercy springing up through the snow-spattered earth.
If you’re like me—if you’re wondering what to do when you feel empty—this is your invitation: Drag your weary self out from the warmth of flannel sheets, or stay right there in the nest of their warm embrace, and soak in the promise that God is with you.
He loves you. Thank him for several of his gifts and ask him to help you stay attuned to his presence throughout the day.
Here are several ways to glance in his direction throughout your days:
1. Look to the sky when you feel empty.
God’s wonder surrounds you. Watch clouds pass by. Marvel at a sunset. Step out of the stress of your day and connect with the One who made the heavens. If you listen closely, you just might hear them singing . . .
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1
2. Spend some time in nature.
Take a walk in the woods or take a walk around your yard. Marvel at the Creator’s handiwork. Watch a pine tree bend in the wind or a ladybug walk across a windowsill. Step into the created world and let your cares fall aside.
Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. Jeremiah 5:22
3. Get lost in the glory of heaven’s throne room.
If you’ve never asked God to sanctify your imagination and lead you into his throne room through the description offered in Revelation, try it today. Read these words. Imagine you are standing before the King of Kings:
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven . . . a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. . . . He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. . . . there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, who was and who is and who is to come.”
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Revelation 4:1-11
An Invitation for You:
Today I encourage you to choose one of the three ideas listed above: Look to the sky, get outside into nature, or imagine yourself in the middle of John’s vision in Revelation 4. Spend just a few minutes marveling at the glory of God today.
For five minutes, resist the urge to turn elsewhere in distraction, and press into God’s glory. Breathe slowly and deeply as you imagine God seated on his throne, watch clouds pass by, or walk slowly outside. God’s wonder is all around. We have simply grown numb to the glory.
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Notes: Begin Again: The Brave Practice of Releasing Hurt and Receiving Rest by Leanna Tankersley
