Girl, Read Your BibleSample

Empty spaces are sacred spaces. 

Books have margins and roads have shoulders for the same reason. We need space—places that aren’t constantly bustling with activity. The same can be said about our souls. In our technology and activity-obsessed lives, it is vital that we intentionally create empty space. 

We rarely have quiet moments in our life. I’m not referring to sleep or planned vacations or those urgent moments when you lock yourself in the closet to escape the inmates who share your last name. While those times are important, most moments are masquerading as sacred space. I’m referring to real quiet moments that create space for our souls. 

In these moments, we shouldn’t attempt to accomplish anything. Or make progress. Or organize our schedules. Our goal should be to create enough space so that the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can infiltrate our lives. These are the times we disconnect from our Fitbits, our smartphones, and Netflix. These are the moments we put down our books and our emails. These are the moments we lay aside our agendas and to-do lists. 

And do nothing.

Does that thought make you smile or squirm? While it makes some people smile, the truth is, we are all like dogs chasing a car. We wouldn’t know what to do with nothing even if we caught it. 

I was standing in my kitchen the other day, feeling utterly discouraged, restless and frustrated with certain people in my life. I was wrestling with the thought that someone may be upset with me. I felt hurt and misunderstood.

Instead of grabbing the Bible sitting on the island, I instinctively reached for my phone to scroll through Facebook and Instagram, unconsciously hoping some clever pictures and funny stories would distract me. And it worked. For a few minutes, I didn’t feel anything.

Therein lies my problem. And yours. We are distracted by the constant noise in our lives. The noise numbs us from the pain and hurt others have caused us, the abuse we have endured, and the feelings of unworthiness and rejection. It distracts us from our inadequacies and even our boredom. The problem is that the noise is like a warm blanket. It’s comforting. So we quickly wrap ourselves up in it. It fills the space; but it doesn’t fulfill us. Distraction is only a temporary drug. It wears off quickly. And then we have to go back for another hit.

Some of us suffer from an abusive past. Some of us struggle with food addiction. Some of us find comfort in gossiping. Some of us are obsessed with our physical appearance. Some of us feel trapped in a relationship. Some of us feel like inadequate parents. Regardless of what your personal struggle may be, it is far easier to ignore it, numb it, or tuck it away so you don’t have to deal with it.

But when we create sacred space—true uninterrupted, quiet time with no expectations from ourselves or from others—we can bring our pain to the Lord. We can fellowship with Jesus. We can expose our hurts to the Light. God never intended for us to fix ourselves. He wants us to come and spend time with Him.

Empty space is sacred space. And sacred space is sanctified space when Jesus is invited in. We all need sacred space where we can abide with Jesus.