Uninvited - Are you Full?

Have you ever felt alone in a crowded room? Ever want that room to swallow you up because you felt so alone and uncomfortable? Its a scenario that I believe has happened to all of us at one point or another. We are at a party, with a group of friends or a family event and there's a ton of people but you feel alone? I know I have.

As I'm the last single person in my group of friends and my family, there are many times when I feel alone however I'm surrounded by people that love me. But we wish we weren't so alone. We look around and everyone has someone. They're chatting with other couples, checking in on their kids. It can be a lonely world for singles. We try to look busy, we check our phones a thousand times in a minute. We check our watches wondering when it's time we can leave. We try to do so many things to numb the pain of loneliness.

What I've learned, and trust me it doesn't work every time...but I try to make it a habit to have fun. Engage with those around me, not feel so alone. “We can't expect those around us to be our soul oxygen. We can't live as if my next breath depends on whether or not they give me enough air for my lungs not to be screaming in pain. Think of this. People don't mind doing CPR on a crisis victim, but no person is equipped to be the constant lifeline to another.”

We can't continue to place unrealistic expectations on others that they will bring us joy. They will ease the pain on feeling so alone. “People will not respect us more than we respect ourselves.” We will always need people. It's our human nature to want to be around others. Think of Genesis 2:18. “Then the Lord God said, “It is not right for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper who is just right for him.” God knew that Adam needed a helper. Now he gave him his spouse, but think about it in our time now...as singles.

As I am still waiting for my future spouse, God knows that I shouldn't be alone. He has gifted me with amazing friends and family that support me and love me. They help me...I am not alone when I'm with them. Yes I may feel 'alone' but these people that God has brought into my life all have different aspects that I look to them for. Each one of them add a different piece to my already amazing life.

As I've gotten older, I like to look at each experience that I am walking into and deciding whether or not I will have the fullness of God, looking for ways to bless others, or do I walk in empty and dependent wanting them to bless me. There is a give and take with each relationship that you are in, and there are times I walk into meetings feeling empty and broken, but in that moment I will be meeting up with the right people to bless me, so that I can feel complete and able to bless those around me.

Here's something to think about:

“People prepared with the fullness of God in them are not super people with pixie dust sparkles of confidence oozing from the pores from which normal people simply sweat. They aren't the ones who walk into a room with the boisterous, 'Hey, Hey, Hey! The party can start now, because I have arrived!' And they certainly aren't the ones who circle the room, making sure their agenda is the agenda of every conversation.

No, the fullness of God is tucked into the sacred places within them. The full taking in of God is their soul oxygen. It's not that they don't need people. They do. God created them for community. But the way they love is from a full place, not from an empty desperation. They are living loved.”

Being full of God's love settles, empowers, and brings out the best of who we are. The best description of fullness of God is found in Ephesians 3:4-19.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Paul prays that we will grasp the full love of Christ when we are rooted and established in love. So that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. When we are filled with God, we won't grasp for others to help the ache. We won't turn to others to heal our pain.

If I go to a friend or family before going to God, I get a nudge in my gut that I believe is God reminding me to be leaning on Him. That is His way of speaking to me. He nudges my gut wanting me to be grasping at all He has for me. He wants me to know the fullness of His love. Are you willing to tell your flesh no when it wants to rely on others before God? It's a decision that we each have to make on our own.

There is such a power in Christ when we are fully loved. We can walk into situations with our heads held high, positive in ourselves, loving ourselves, and being ok...alone in a crowded room.

“His love holds us. His love grounds us. His love is a glorious weight preventing the harsh words and hurtful situations from being destructive forces.”

Prepare yourselves with the fullness of God before the next party. Before the next difficult decision, prepare. “The more fully we invite God in, the less we will feel uninvited by others.”

*Quotes from Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

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