I always have songs that I gradually fall in love with and this was the case for William Murphy’s song -“Empty Me”.  I listened to the song during Praise and Worship rehearsal but the song did not really resonate with me until I was alone in prayer time the following day. I heard these words in my spirit-

Holy Fire Burn away

My desire for anything

That is not of You and is of me

I want more of you and less of me

The lyrics of this song became my prayer for the day and my spirit yearned to be emptied.  To be empty was no longer a desire but a necessity for what was to come. The next few lines simply said “Empty Me, Empty me/ Fill me, won’t You fill me with You”.  I sat in an atmosphere of worship and begged God to fill me with Himself, all of Himself because in that moment I wanted so much more of Him.  I need to be filled by Him.

Have you ever tried to fill an already full glass of water?  The water begins to overflow and make a mess on the ground below.  Have you ever tried to put clean clothes into an already packed closet?  If you never have, trust me, that’s an adventure in itself. Many say that I am a pack rat,  I see it as being a sentimentalist. I hold on to things that have memories attached to them, EVERYTHING. lol.  I’ve gotten better over the years but I remember at one point in time keeping things that did not matter and could not go with me to my next phase of life.  In order to receive the new, I had to throw out the old. That was tough because my soul was tied to the old things, the old man.  I was so stubborn in my hanging on that I would refuse what was good and new to hold on to something that was old and not useful anymore.  I needed to empty my life of the clutter of my past.

Like me, some of us need to de-clutter.  We need to be emptied so that we can receive what God is trying to give us in this season.  New wine cannot go into old wine bottles, they’ll break (paraphrasing) .  Jesus said this to teach about how when we become new people we can’t live in our old lifestyle, in our old mindsets.  But today, let’s look at this phrase as saying that we cannot receive the newness of life unless we empty the old.  There is no need to open a new bottle of wine if the old one is still open and full. (disclaimer: I don’t condone drinking, just using this as an example- can see ya’ll church people now lol.)  Some of us need to throw out what is old and stale, our past and embrace the newness of our future.  We need to be emptied.  Our heart, mind and souls need to release everything that has no use for us anymore in order to make space for what ‘s to come.

I know that this blog is about love and relationships, so I am going to bring this topic full circle.  We can’t accept the new guy/girl if we don’t let go of the old one.  We have no room for new genuine friendships if we don’t let go of the damaging old ones.  I know its hard to let go, trust me I do.  I’m a recovering pack rat, remember, so I know!  Letting go is a hard process, but it must be done in order for us to be filled again with what God has for us.  It’s time to get out a trash bag, some boxes, a bonfire and whatever else you need to get rid of the old and be emptied for the new.  I suggest placing old things in the trash bag, placing it into a box and then hurling it into a bonfire with all of your might- eliminating the residue of every memory and soul tie.  Some might say, you’re doing the most- but I say “hey, whatever works!”

May you be emptied so that you can be filled again!

Mo