2026.06.14 | I've Been Searching for Something. I Think Sunday Told Me What It Is.

I've had a hard time putting words to it.

It's not quite loneliness. Not exactly emptiness. Just this persistent sense that something is missing - that the life I've built, which looks pretty good from the outside, doesn't quite feel complete from the inside.

I've tried to fill it with different things. More work. Better relationships. Longer runs. Cleaner eating. A different city. Most of them helped for a while. None of them fixed it.

Josh Bressler preached Acts 17 on Sunday and described what he called a God-shaped void. A famous theologian, he said, used that phrase - the idea that all of us have a space inside that nothing else will fill. And if you've been going through life without a relationship with God, you already know that. He said: I'm not telling you about something you don't know about. You've experienced it, probably even today.

That landed harder than I expected.

The passage was about Paul walking into Athens - one of the most educated, successful cities of the ancient world - and finding a city full of people doing what I've been doing. Looking for something to fill the void. They had altars everywhere, gods for every occasion, and one more just in case: "To the Unknown God."

They were hedging. Covering their bases. Making sure they hadn't missed whoever was actually out there.

Paul stood up and said: you haven't missed him. You just don't know his name yet. Let me introduce you.

Josh traced the whole story from there - God in the garden, walking close enough to be heard. God building a temple to be near his people. God sending Jesus to tear the curtain that separated them. Not because he was keeping people out, but because he was waiting for the day when he could finally invite them back in.

He said: God isn't far from any of us. In fact, he's been seeking you the whole time.

I don't have this all figured out. I still have questions. But I'm starting to wonder if the void I've been trying to fill has a specific shape - and if the God who's been seeking me is exactly what fits it.

I'm not ready to say I have it all figured out. But I'm done building altars to an unknown God. I want to know who he actually is.

If you want to explore more, you can watch the full message from Josh Bressler on our YouTube channel or through the Hope App. And if you want to talk, someone at Hope would genuinely love to have that conversation with you.