Empty Place

When life's battles leave you searching for strength, where do you turn? Join us at Guidance Light, where this week I, Jon, your host, delve into the profound impact of walking in faith and the power of scripture during our darkest hours. In the raw vulnerability of our conversation, I share how letting go of my own plans and surrendering to the Holy Spirit's guidance can lead to profound insights for all of us. Together, we tackle the spiritual battles that challenge our trust in God's plan, drawing courage from His word to confront the emptiness and adversity that test our faith.

Have you ever wondered if there's more to life than the pursuit of material wealth and success? This episode takes a hard look at what truly brings fulfillment, emphasizing the emptiness of worldly gains compared to the richness of a life led by faith and the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on our shared journey, I invite you to engage with our growing community, sharing the blessings and insights you've gained. As we bid farewell, I leave you with a heart full of gratitude and a promise to keep bringing you soul-stirring messages every week, underpinned by our steadfast dedication to serving God's divine purpose.

Chapters

• 0:20 The Power of Serving God
• 9:26 Finding Purpose Through Faith
• 22:48 Guidance Light Podcast Updates and Thanks

Transcript

Jon: 0:20

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. And for those who are new, welcome. Thank you all for listening to Guidance Light, the podcast channel and now a ministry that covers the love of Jesus Christ. We go into devotionals and we talk about scripture, what it means to us and how it pertains to the message of the episode. I'm honored to be your host and my name is John. This is season one, episode eight, and the name of this episode is an empty place. Now, before we open into this episode, I want to stop and say a quick prayer for you and for an anointing from God, as his word is holy and I don't want to tread where I'm not called to tread. God, thank you for having us here. Thank you for putting this together, lord, for your word is a living word, god, and we seek to follow it to the fullest extent. Thank you for allowing me to sit here and be able to speak them In Jesus' name. I pray Amen, praise God. It's wonderful how God has allowed me to voice his words on this show and I'm so thankful for the changes he's making in my life Through God's amazing grace and his loving will. This channel has launched a website where you can go and do things like submit prayer requests, send emails, see the schedules for events and activities, look up and purchase official guidance light merchandise designed by my wife and I to help support the ministry. This is a start of a vision that God has in store for us not for me, but for all of us as a collective family in Jesus Christ. Thanks to his guidance in my life, we have also launched the show on big platforms like Spotify, amazon Music, and we even have YouTube coming soon. My family and I are so excited to serve God and, by extension, to serve you, his family.

Jon: 2:23

Now I'm going to ask you and I'm going to bow my head quickly and say Father, all of this would not be possible without you, the Lord of the universe, the one and only living God. You deserve all our praise and you are worthy beyond what we could ever comprehend. God, you are beautiful, victorious and faithful. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be used as an instrument for your purpose. God, guide us all through this episode, and may the words that are spoken tonight reverberate in us and fuel the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Worthy and hallowed are you, lord, who sees me, who lights my path in the darkness, guides me through the storms and grants me the voice to praise your name, lord, I ask that you let your Holy Spirit fill the heart of all who hear your words, as we praise you in our own way. God, if it is your will, I pray that you allow us to feel your presence in the midst of this episode and grant us a peace that only you could provide, regardless of what we are currently going through. My mouth is yours, lord, as you wove me in my mother's womb. You created an instrument, lord, to do with it as you will. May the message you impart through your words serve for those you have intended to speak to and all who are listening feel your warm and loving embrace In Jesus' holy name. I know God's words will be the catalyst that will lift you up, encourage and lead you through the valley that you may be walking through right now. May we all seek refuge in God and stay calm in the chaos of this world, knowing you, o God, will be and forever remain our deliverer. Your words say that you will rescue us, o God, and that, if we are to suffer, lord, that our faith in you shall be refined so long as we keep our faith in you. Rescue us and speak, lord. We are your servants and we are listening. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen, amen.

Jon: 4:32

Before I fully dive into this episode, I want to say this episode is going to be a tough one. It's going to be hard, because there are things that we all need to hear, whether or not we want to hear them or not. And, my brothers and sisters, on this episode, I want you to know that the devil is trying to rise up to prevent me from going over what God wants me to go over. I've tried to write down what I'm talking about. I've tried to put it together. I've come to realize that I just have to speak, and I can't write it down. I can't rely on my own thoughts. I have to just let the Holy Spirit flow through me and give you the information that you need to hear, because he doesn't want me to do it. The devil doesn't want me to give you the tools that you need to succeed, and I rebuke him in the name of Jesus Christ, the holy name that holds so much power that you have access to, and I'm going to get on the edge of my seat here and I'm going to give it all to God. I'm going to give you everything I've got, because it's hard. It's hard to sit here and tell you what I don't know, but I'll tell you who does know it. God knows it.

Jon: 5:39

The words that I'm going to talk about, they're not mine. I'm just a voice, I'm just an instrument. I've given up trying and typing. I've given up writing. I've given up everything because I'm balling up the papers and I'm throwing them away, because everything that I'm putting forth out of my own conscience, out of my own will, isn't making sense. But I know that he can. I know that Jesus can make sense of everything that we're going to talk about in you. So, before I go on and before I go into this, I want to say how grateful I am for the salvation that God has given me. He has saved me through my own personal fires, through my own griefs, through my own suffering, and he could do the same for you.

Jon: 6:30

In episode one, titled Accepting the Call, I explained how I dropped everything to serve God. I explained that I had everything in the palm of my hands and I wanted for nothing, but yet nothing was going right, no matter where I turned, no matter what I bought or what I sold or who I spoke with. Everything felt pointless. But the devil rejoiced in what I was doing. I wasn't following God at that time. He was giving me everything that he thought I wanted and that I thought I wanted, and because of that I turned my back on God. I thought that I could make things happen on my own and that my strength was enough. I ignored God's calls. God was holding on to me, even if I wasn't holding on to him, and nothing that I did or said made me feel like I had a purpose. It all felt so empty inside, like many of you report all the time, and that led to depression and to anxiety and to so many things that continually went wrong.

Jon: 7:40

I want you to understand that we are put on earth to serve God, not to chase what the world says we need. And it's important to understand that Paul in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 4, says Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. So when you are chasing what the world has to offer. Ask yourself am I chasing this for God, or am I chasing this because the world says I should chase it? And if it's the world that says I should, who am I really honoring? Rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus Christ, and dig into the word of God.

Jon: 8:34

In the book of Mark, chapter 8, verse 36 through 37, it says for what shall it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? And this was laid out beautifully because it explains that, no matter how hard you fight in this world, no matter how much you gain, what is the point of everything If everything you gain is material? If you left Jesus out of your heart, out of the equation, because you were so focused on getting what the world has to offer, because maybe it was advertised as fun or cool or you felt like you needed it, and when you finally went through the headache and you finally obtained it, you realized that you never actually needed it.

Jon: 9:26

And all and when, all is said and done, and you stand before God in judgment, he won't judge you on what he sees. He won't judge you on what he hears, or how many toys you had, or how popular you were. He's going to judge you on the depths of your righteousness and your faith in Him. It doesn't matter the amount of toys you acquired in life, it doesn't matter the size of your bank account, it doesn't matter the fame that you acquired while you were here on earth, because at the end, at the end, at the revelation of Jesus, none of it matters.

Jon: 10:09

And that's what the Holy Spirit tells you that you're going down the wrong path in life by making you feel empty. Pay attention, because that's a way. That is a way for you to know. You ask yourself how do I know what I'm doing is the right thing? Wake up and listen to what your heart is telling you. How do I know that I'm following what God wants me to do? Because that emptiness that you feel inside is going to vanish. It's going to disappear. It's going to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You're going to feel fire and excitement in your soul that is so contagious that all you want to do is infect others with it.

Jon: 10:54

So many of us, due to the struggles and the strife that we've felt in life, have lost the excitement of what we call life, because we've let the devil turn off our fires and he's equipped with an extinguisher of temptation and sin of the world. Rebuke him in the name of Jesus and don't let him turn your fire off, because we were stitched together in the womb with a purpose by God, and that purpose has light, and that light is Jesus Christ. And if you chase what the world has to offer, you're falling into a trap. You're running an endless circle that leads you to nowhere but misery and death. The Holy Spirit is trying to warn you with the emptiness you feel, avoid in your chest that you can almost physically feel it. Wake up, guys. That is your cue. That is the Holy Spirit beating on your door saying let me in and give you purpose. Let me reveal who you are by giving everything you're chasing up and giving yourself to the one and only to God. You cannot take what is of this world when you die. If you're already suffering in this life, how much worse would it be in hell?

Jon: 12:23

This is such a difficult episode to talk about, guys, because there's so many things that can be misconstrued and taken as wrong. I'm not trying to tell you that your life is fruitless. I'm not trying to tell you that all your efforts have been in vain. But I need you to understand that the Word of God is not just rainbows and butterflies. It's also the fear of God that we need to instill in our hearts, because His wrath is true and His judgment is final. Who are you trying to please in this world by fighting for what is killing you? Whose good graces are you trying to win over, when God has given you all the grace you need freely? Nothing on this earth matters except for the grace of God, for he sees you with eyes of love.

Jon: 13:21

Don't follow what other people tell you. Follow what God's words say. Don't listen to the news or to social media. They are all of this world and, as we learned in 2 Corinthians, we don't want to follow who is of this world. We want to follow the one who overcame it, who, one who shook off temptation, who delivered us from evil and gives us our daily bread, and His name is Jesus.

Jon: 13:48

In the book of Psalms, chapter 1, verse 1, it says how happy is a one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stands in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers. Instead, delight is in the Lord's instruction and he meditates on it day and night. Think of God's instructions and your life will be filled with love, happiness and purpose. Steer clear of sinners and walk in righteousness, guided by the instructions in the Word of God. Don't take advice from those who do not fear the Lord, but seek God in all that you do. Think of how you can serve each and every single day and dedicate your time and resources to God, for he is a great deliverer and he knows you by name.

Jon: 14:49

My brothers and my sisters, life is not one paycheck after the other. It's not about reaching the next level at work. It's not about who has the best car or the prettiest house. Our life was designed to follow God. He has our purpose and he has given it to you from the very get-go. All you have to do is accept Him into your life and follow Him freely. Follow Him willingly, because he gave you His Son freely. He gave you the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross to cleanse you of your sins willingly. Blessed be His name, because Jesus was a perfect lamb. In the Bible it says that he walked into this crucifixion without saying a word, even though he was being beaten and bruised and called names and spat on. He never told a lie, he never slandered anybody. He took what was given to Him because he loved us and he loves you, and he doesn't want you to feel the empty place in your heart. He wants to come in and he wants to fill it with the Holy Spirit. He wants to guide you, he wants to give you purpose, he wants you to know that there is a reason that you are here on earth and he wants you to understand that he is your reason. If you don't know how to look up the instructions that God has given us, you have to look no further, but to look at the Bible.

Jon: 16:51

When I started giving my life to God, I well, I'll put it to you this way I, from a very young age, was introduced to God, but yet I fell away from Him and I always knew that I needed to read the book, the good book, the Bible, the Word of God, but I could never quite get around to it. If you want to be able to understand yourself, look at yourself from the eyes of God, through His words, and you will begin to understand yourself in a way that you've never thought was possible. I did not think it was possible that I would be so much so lost in this world, with so many things going for me that I thought were going for me. But yet this Bible, this Word of God, has revealed things about me that I didn't even know were there. It's shining a light in the dark areas of my life, and it can shine a light in yours too.

Jon: 17:58

And if you've never, ever, accepted God, if you don't know how to get from point A to point B, if you don't want to feel that emptiness anymore, then all you have to do is take a couple steps, look inside of yourself and ask yourself what I'm chasing in life. Is it for God or is it for me? Because if it's for you, I can tell you that you need to have a little more introspection into yourself. God is calling you. That empty feeling is a knock on your heart, and he wants you to know that he knows you, he loves you and he misses you. He put you together and he wants you to serve because there is purpose and fulfillment, and he wants you to know that you need to have a little more introspection into yourself.

Jon: 19:13

If you feel that emptiness, god is calling you. He's telling you give it all to me, for I have something better for you. Your plans are not my plans. Your will is not my will. I reign on heaven and I ask that you trust me to reign in your life.

Jon: 19:46

So pray with me so that you can get rid of that emptiness by allowing Jesus to come inside your heart. And it's as simple as bowing your head and saying God, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that you sent down Jesus, your Son, to earth to die on the cross for me, to cleanse me of my sins. Lord, I recognize you as my Lord and Savior. Come into my heart and fill that emptiness. Give me purpose when all feels like it's for naught. Help me feel the fire that only you give, and I will trust in you for the rest of my life, for I know that your will will take me where your grace will protect me.

Jon: 20:52

In Jesus' name, I pray. Thank you, god, because you are all that's holy. Thank you for loving me, even when I haven't given you my all. In Jesus' name, in His holy name, I pray To take me and do with me as you will, use me as your instrument so that I may carry out the days of my life in you. Thank you, jesus. In your name I pray Amen. If you said that prayer, welcome to God's family, and I want to say thank you so much for being a part of this channel. This episode was a hard one to go through, but I'm happy we made it through together.

Jon: 21:59

Your support for this show means the world to me and my family, so please visit us on our new website, wwwguidance-lightcom, filled with cool information, prayer request forms and also with official merchandise placed there to help support this ministry. Your support helps me and my family push through to be able to create content and focus on the vision that God has in store for us. We post daily verses on our Instagram and Facebook, so make sure to follow us on both for daily motivation. Please leave comments and reviews on our channel, as it helps the algorithms promote our show so that others can hear what God may have in store for them. If you're going through something, send us a prayer request. It remains anonymous, but my wife and I pray for each one submitted.

Jon: 22:48

We are in this together and I'm very excited for what God has in store for us. Visit us again at guidance-lightcom or email me at john at guidance-lightcom and please, I'm asking for your help in sharing these podcasts with friends and family members. God can work through you. This may be your chance to fulfill that fulfillment that God has for you. God bless you and keep you safe. I thank God for every single one of you. Guidance Light will continually air one episode every Friday night into Saturday morning and guidance light plus additional content released later in the week for subscribers. Stay tuned for that. Thank you again, and may God bless you. This is John with Guidance Light signing out.