God-Shaped Hole

You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes. Haggai 1:6

Have you ever heard of the God-shaped hole?

We’ve all seen the toys for toddlers that require them to sort shapes by putting each of the differently shaped blocks through its corresponding hole. No matter how hard you might try, you can’t put the star shape through the triangle opening. Or as the saying goes, you can’t force a square peg into a round hole.

They say that inside every human being is a God-shaped hole, a space put there by God that only He can fill. Pretty clever of God, when He was creating me, to leave a space for Himself, as I am so prone to selfishness and neglect of others.

Sometimes our hearts feel full of holes. If someone important to us dies, moves away, or rejects us, it leaves us feeling torn up inside. Losing a job, good health, or even a beloved pet causes stress, fear, and that empty feeling that hurts so much. For some people, emptiness is an occasional feeling experienced during rough times. For others it is an every day struggle. Childhood wounds often never properly heal.

And what do we do with empty spaces? We try to fill them up. After the initial pain subsides, we think about getting a new pet, making new friends, finding a new purpose. If we give up a bad habit- like smoking for example- new, better habits are needed to replace the old. If we never learned basic “happiness skills” as a child, we might be more likely than others to try to fill the emptiness with temporary pleasures like drugs and sex. Some people spend their whole lives trying to fill the void by accumulating wealth or power. Some simply numb their sensitivity to the emptiness by filling every waking hour with some form of entertainment- video games, social media, television programs.

What things do you fill your life with when you feel empty? Some of the non-spiritual things we fill our lives with are sinful and some are not. Some are healthy and some are unhealthy. None of them is a substitute for God.

In the days of Haggai the prophet, a remnant of Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. But they had become discouraged by opposition from outsiders and were neglecting the purpose for which God had providentially returned them to the holy land. They had become their own worst enemy. The results were not good.

Haggai explained to them: “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes,” (Haggai 1:6).

Doesn’t life feel like that sometimes, as if no matter what we do, no matter how we try to fill the emptiness inside, that cavernous space still yawns before us? There are activities and people that are good for us, that can help fill our empty spaces inside. There are also plenty of worthless things we can chase because they give us a temporary good feeling, an endorphine rush. But we will never be truly or permanently satisfied until we fill the God-shaped hole with God. No matter how hard you try, you can’t fill the God-shaped hole with things of this world. It’s like trying to put the star block through the triangle hole.

In Haggai’s day the people had built comfortable homes for themselves, but God’s house was still in ruins. This reflected that something was amiss, out of place, in their hearts. They were told to consider their ways. Today when we make time for God, when we work to build up His church, when we meet Him in the fellowship of prayer and meditation on His word, we are building a dwelling place for Christ in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17).

He’ll surely have to do some housekeeping to get that space in order but He wants to dwell there. It’s a place designed for Him. It’s sure to be a perfect fit.

Thank you, God, for creating me to need You. Help me to put the things of this world in their proper place so that I always leave the best space for you. You are the most important being in my life. Please prepare my heart to be Your dwelling place. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins