GOSPEL TRACTS

Why Do I Always Feel So Empty Inside?

Everyone is filled with vanity, and everyone is dissatisfied. It is just that some people are so busy that they do not feel the vanity.

Some people attempt to deflect the sense of vanity and emptiness by intentionally making themselves busy. However, when things quiet down, the lurking sense of emptiness immediately springs forth. As a matter of fact, everyone senses vanity. The richer you are, the emptier you feel. Ironically, people with higher educational attainments sense more emptiness than those with lesser education. Some people take the pursuit of education and knowledge as their goal in life: after finishing college, they earn their doctorate degree. Dissatisfied with one, they study for another doctorate degree. However, after obtaining their degrees, they realize that these achievements still cannot satisfy the deep sense of vanity within.

Let us consider the familiar story of the owner of the Eastman Kodak Company. His was once a 24-hour business that expanded to cover every corner of the world. His income was not computed yearly or monthly, but by the second. Big banks all around the world kept his deposits, and he could cash checks at will. We can say that he could do anything that he liked. He enjoyed a variety of pleasures and entertainment. However, he was still unhappy. The pain in his heart was even more serious than the suffering in his body. He did not know how to get rid of this sense of emptiness. He employed all the ways the world had to offer. He had immense wealth and power; there was nothing that he could not accomplish. Yet still, he did not have joy. Within him was a sense of vanity. Eventually, he toured around the world, saw everything that could be seen, but the sense of vanity within him just became heavier. His frustrations gave in to despair, despair gave in to hopelessness, and finally, he killed himself.

The sense of emptiness originates from man’s spirit, which is the innermost part of man. Man is a vessel created by God to contain God, to be filled with God. But man, as a vessel, did not let God come in, but instead, became filled with many other things like money, education, wealth, fame, and position, etc. “Though very great is all the world, and very small is your heart, yet the great world with all its wealth never can fill your small heart.” Friends, the God who made all things created you in His image. Only by letting Him enter into you can you be fully satisfied. Only then can you be joyful. Only then can you be thoroughly relieved from the sense of emptiness within. To get rid of the sense of vanity, there is no other way than to receive God into you. Let Jesus the Savior come into you.

If you feel emptiness, why don’t you pray to Him in this way, “Dear Savior, Lord Jesus, I feel so empty, I really need You. O Lord, I open my heart to You. Please come into my spirit, and comfort me.” When you pray in this way, you will obtain real satisfaction within. The grace and blessing of God will come into your life. This is the meaning of human life. This is the meaning of our human existence.