Empty

I listen to a lot of music, but every so often I'll find a song, in particular a couple of lines of a song that stick with me. I think that music has the ability to change lives, change hearts, change views. And sometimes I find a song, or even just those few lyrics, that do just that.

Empty handed

But not forsaken

These five words are from an overall incredibly song called "Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)" by Hillsong Worship. The entire song is full of truth and joy, proclaiming the gospel and bringing a new light to an incredibly well-known song (Amazing Grace.) It is these words, though, that I cannot get over. These words, as I see them, take our entire identity as children of the Lord and captures it. In five, beautiful words. 

Lets just read that again, shall we?

Empty handed

But not forsaken

Everything about who I am, who we are as Christ's, is said here, in the simplest of ways. 

We come into our salvation with absolutely nothing. This world is incredibly temporary, falling apart constantly. We are not good enough, not even close. We have nothing to offer God. We are broken, empty sinners, with more bad than good in us. In fact, with really no good in us at all. 

Even after we are saved we have nothing. It is THROUGH Christ in us that we have the ability to offer forgiveness and grace and love that is not corrupted by the world's ideas. It is only THROUGH Christ that we become anything at all. It is HIM IN US, not us with Him there. The cross does not lift us up that last foot or so, it picks us up out of the canyon we are dead in, brings us back to life, and carries us to solid ground. And then continues to catch us everytime we fall off again. 

If you have never been saved, if you have recently been saved, or if you have been following Christ for years, it is still the same. If you are in a good season or bad season or hard season or easy season, it is still the same. If you are young or old or a missionary or teacher or mother or student it is the same.

We are all completely and utterly empty handed, standing in front of the Lord with absolutely nothing to offer. Absolutely nothing.

And yet He is reaching out. He is taking our empty, dirty hands and washing them with His son's blood. He is picking up every piece of our broken existence and putting them back together with His grace. He is breathing life into us with a love that can move mountains. And yet. We are not being forsaken. We are not being abandoned. 

We have less than nothing to offer, yet God has chosen to love us anyway.

We have been set free, and given everything.

Because not only has Jesus embraced us in our broken nothingness, but has handed us the Gospel, unimaginable joy, grace, mercy, and love. He has come into us, sending His spirit to guide us, promising us a place in His kingdom, and eternal celebration.

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While this applies entirely to every single believer, I (naturally) have been focused primarily on it effects me and my life. As you can imagine it impacts me quite a bit. 

I am currently in one of the most peaceful, content seasons of my life that I can ever recall. I am walking through life joyfully, activally trusting that the God who loves me is faithful in guiding me around any mountains I may encounter.

But the funny thing is that that doesn't mean I am any better.

In a good or bad or in-between season I am still incredibly needy, broken, and empty.

I am nothing. I have no words, I have no strength, I have no honest love.

On a bad day I am nothing.

On a good day I am nothing.

On any given day I am absolutely nothing.

But all of this is changed because in my salvation, in my decision to walk in the light

On a good day Christ is everything.

On a bad day Christ is everything.

On any given day Christ is everything.

And because of this, because over and over again He accepts my empty hands, I am walking freely. I am seeing the light. I know that in this season right now I am His.

College is hard. Making friends is hard. Feeling alone and overwhelmed and scared is hard. 

Yes, I am content, but that doesn't make these hard things go away.

And I am so empty in all of them. I come offering nothing, and in need of something much bigger than I am. 

Daily I offer up these empty hands.

Knowing that though they be empty, they are not forgotten.