{"id":29730,"date":"2023-04-28T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T06:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=29730"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:36:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:36:16","slug":"a-cross-shaped-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/a-cross-shaped-hole\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cross-Shaped Hole"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you\u201d (John 14:17).<\/p>\n<p>I had the American Dream, yet my heart felt empty. I had a handsome husband, a beautiful baby, and a home of my own, yet peace eluded me. I had everything I thought would make me happy, yet depression nibbled at the edges of my emotions.<\/p>\n<p>Why could I not find contentment? Because I had a cross-shaped hole in my heart that another baby and a bigger house would never fill. Often, we attempt to stuff worldly things (people, addictions, etc.) into that cross-shaped hole in our hearts, but they will never fit. God created that hole for Him and Him alone.<\/p>\n<p>We all have a longing for intimacy that God placed deep within us because He yearns to be in relationship with us. Our heavenly Father longs for us even more than we long for Him. God created this inner hunger to draw us to Himself. We are made for oneness with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet our human nature attempts to fill that cross-shaped hole with other things.<\/p>\n<p>The world\u2019s intimacy is temporary and inferior \u2014 and it comes with shame. Shame drives us into more sin and away from God. It is the Enemy\u2019s tactic to separate us from God. When we settle for the Enemy\u2019s false intimacy, it distances us from closeness with the Lord. Jesus wants to give us a real intimacy that leaves no shame or regret.<\/p>\n<p>Intimacy was God\u2019s idea, His design, His desire. That cross-shaped hole in our hearts is God\u2019s invitation to a deep relationship with Himself.<\/p>\n<p>I finally accepted God\u2019s invitation to this intimacy. I returned to church and rededicated my life to Christ. I formed a Bible study for young mothers like me. I surrounded myself with mothers and fathers in the faith to mentor me. I fixed my eyes on Jesus and stopped grasping for contentment \u2014 and it found me. All I did was reach for the cross.<\/p>\n<p>Are you hungering for things that do not satisfy? Reach for the cross instead. God promises to satisfy the longing of your heart with His very presence.<\/p>\n<p><em>Father, thank You for that cross-shaped hole in my heart that drew me into Your presence. Amen! <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you\u201d (John 14:17). I had the American Dream, yet my heart felt empty. I had a handsome husband, a beautiful baby, and a home of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1591,"featured_media":29733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,2431],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Cross-Shaped Hole - Bible Advocate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/a-cross-shaped-hole\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Cross-Shaped Hole - Bible Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you\u201d (John 14:17). 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