The flood of dysfunctional lives, rooted in abandoning the person of Christ, is on the road to nowhere. Adding to the flight, the pursuit of meaning without Christ will result in the emptiness of the soul. No possessions, no persons, no riches, no gurus, no philosophies, no substances, etc., will give the soul meaning. “For what is profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Jeremiah warns Israel concerning abandoning fellowship with Him. (Jeremiah 2:4-6) “Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of Israel. This is what the Lord says: What injustice did your fathers find in me, that they went far from Me, and walked after emptiness and became empty? They did not say, where is the Lord who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who has led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and deep darkness—.” (NAS) Life without the Lord is a walk in darkness. (Psalm 82.5) “They do not know, nor do they understand. They walk about in darkness.”
Jeremiah speaks of God’s judgment against the cities of Judah. “I will utter my judgments against their wickedness, because they have forsaken Me, burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.” (Jeremiah 1:16) Jehovah was the fountain of living waters to them. Not satisfied with the cistern of God’s living water, they built their own cisterns and dispatched the true God and sought other pagan gods. God declares their depravity evil. “For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13) Broken cisterns are the evidence of emptiness. Pursuing the fountain of living waters is the path of life and joy. “You will show me the path of life, in your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) Pursuing the emptiness of idolatry leads the soul into captivity of Satan, chained in the abyss of darkness and despair.
The depravity of man started in the Garden of Eden. “For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.” (I Timothy 2:13-14) Adam willingly disobeyed God. As Adam’s seed we all willingly disobey God. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all men sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
Jesse Penn-Lewis, in her work War on the Saints, writes on Satan’s craft in the Garden of Eden. “We see him working upon an innocent creature’s highest and purest desires, and cloaking his own purpose of ruin, under the guise of seeking to lead a human being nearer to God. We see him using the God-ward desires of Eve to bring about captivity, and bondage to himself. We see him using ‘good’ to bring about evil; SUGGESTING evil to bring about supposed good. Caught with the bait of being ‘wise’ and ‘like God’, Eve is blinded to the principle involved in obedience to God and is deceived.” She further writes concerning the temptation of Eve. “Satan said to Eve, ‘Ye shall be as gods,’ but he did not say, ‘and ye shall be like demons’. Satan did not tell Eve this, when he added ‘knowing good and evil.’ His true objective in deceiving Eve was to get her to disobey God, but his wile was, ‘Ye shall be like God.’ Had she reasoned, she would have seen the deceiver’s suggestion expose itself, for it crudely resolved itself into ‘disobey God’ to be more like God!”
Finally, for the one who trusts Christ there is rest. Reverend Richard Baxter (1615-1691) writes a work, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest based on (Hebrews 4:9. “There remains a rest for the people of God.” All you who are chasing after emptiness resulting in an empty soul, acknowledge your wretched sin and fly to Jesus. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17) Read John chapter three where you will find rest for your soul.
Where the grace blows,