GOD FILLS OUR HEARTS WITH HIS LOVE.

 Keyword FILL (verb): to occupy the whole of, to satisfy, to complete 

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5 NLT

I see the appointment written on the calendar, and I sigh. Time to go to the dentist again already? I know dental care is extremely important, and I truly am grateful for mine. The office is bright and welcoming (shout out to my favorite receptionist, Debbie!), and the friendly, knowledgeable staff make the gum poking and teeth scraping mostly bearable.

But, still–sitting in a dentist’s chair is not something most of us ever enjoy. And if a dreaded cavity is found, we know the next appointment is going to be worse. Needles, drills, and something that feels like a miniature crowbar are required to fix this problem inside our mouth.

 As tempting as it might be to just ignore a small hole in a tooth, we can’t. Cavities left alone only get larger with infection and worsening pain to come. They need a filling. A specific kind of material to occupy the whole of a cavity, to satisfy and complete it so that no empty places remain.

So, we can’t just stick some gum in there and hope it holds?

Oh.

But I wonder if that is what we often try to do with the holes in our hearts that are causing us pain and disappointment…

 It might be that someone we depend on has betrayed our trust.

Or a dream has died. 

Or things have taken an unexpected turn for the worse. 

Or life just feels hard.

Or all of the above.

Do we try to pretend it doesn’t hurt?

Do we try to numb the pain with food, shopping, alcohol, busyness, or Netflix? 

Do we try to fix it ourselves with some kind of self-help plan that we found on social media?

We have such better care available to us than that.

We know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

God sees us struggling. He knows our every painful cavity in our hearts, and he can fix them completely. He tenderly and powerfully gives us his Holy Spirit filling of love–the only kind that can forever heal and help.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment…

 We will get disappointed in this broken world. For sure.

 But not by Jesus.

 He constantly pours into our hearts the soothing balm of his Spirit. He soaks it into every crack and crevasse and fills us to overflowing with his comforting presence and compassion. He helps us remember his words and trust his faithfulness. And he ignites in us anew the flame of hope that we thought had completely burned out.  

No appointment (or shots of novocaine) required.

 Dear Jesus, you know how and why my heart hurts. When I don’t understand the pain and am worn out by the struggle, I will open my heart to your Spirit of love, truth, peace, and healing. Please help me to trust only you to take care of my filling. Amen.