Learning to embrace our 'nothingness'

I am nothing by myself. That’s not a very cheery opener, is it?

I wonder if you sometimes feel like nothing. Nothing in comparison to others. Nothing left to give. Those of us in the caring profession can easily feel like there’s nothing left in the tank - exhausted and at the end of our resources is a common and difficult feeling.

Most of us think of "nothing" as a negative, dirty word, because we want to be somebodies: important, capable, and full of never-ending strength and compassion. "Nothing" implies weakness, loss and insignificance.

I recently read a wonderful book called Neighbourhoods Reimagined by Chris and Elizabeth McKinney. It helped me to see that Jesus didn’t feel this way. "Nothingness" didn’t scare Him.

Jesus, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing" (Philippians 2:6-7).

Spot the "nothings" and "nots" in Jesus' words from the book of John:

• "…the Son can do nothing by himself" (John 5:19)
• "By myself I can do nothing…" (John 5:30)
• "I do not accept glory from human beings…" (John 5:41)
• "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will…" (John 6:38)
• "My teaching is not my own" (John 7:16)
• "I am not here on my own authority…" (John 7:28)
• "…I do nothing on my own…" (John 8:28)
• "I have not come on my own; God sent me" (John 8:42)
• "I am not seeking glory for myself…" (John 8:50)
• "The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority" (John 14:10)
• "These words you hear are not my own…" (John 14:24)

As I read these verses, it really hit me that in one sense Jesus didn’t need to see Himself as nothing - He is God (Colossians 2:9) and therefore didn’t need to depend on the Father like He did. He flung stars into space, He sustains all things and He is all powerful (Colossians 1:16).

But, in his humanity, I believe He’s showing us how we can flourish and we can live as God intended in our humanity - how we can find hope, confidence and peace: by accepting our nothingness. If we surrender our striving, and instead lean fully into the all-ness of God, then that is where we’ll be blessed. Jeremiah 17:7 says: "Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence."

One of my favourite songs is Everlasting Arms by Lou Fellingham. It speaks wonderfully of our Father’s full giving when we feel like we have nothing left to give, and His invitation - to us - to lean into Him:

"When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed and the day is half done
When we've reached the end of our earthly resources
The Father's full giving is only begun"

So, I welcome you to join me as we, along with our Saviour, embrace the nothingness of ourselves and the all-ness of God as we lean into Him.