Empty

This morning in my devotions, I was studying Rom. 15:13 which says, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
Wow, what a conviction! This though comes from the idea of "filling." If you have a cup and you want to fill it with milk, even the tiniest bit of OJ in the bottom will ruin it. The cup won't be filled with milk...it will have some OJ in it. True, too, that in order for the Holy Spirit to fill me, I must be totally emptied of myself. I guess the verse is more talking about being filled with joy and peace--so if I am focused on myself, I will not have joy or peace because my flesh is such a discouraging thing to dwell on! I guess my thought pattern here was as Dr. J. said in chapel today...Men are like waffles; women are like spagetti. It connects. The same principle applies to allowing God to fill me with joy and peace as being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord really gripped my heart on this though process. Pretty sure, that was the only verse I got to this morning...but as I meditate (or marinade as I've heard it put) on this idea, it's changing my life. I want to be totally filled with the Holy Spirit, but in order for that to happen, I must be emptied of my self-love, my pride, my own ideas and counsel.
This whole self love issue has been revealed in my heart recently too. The Lord has graciously shown me how little I love others--yes, there are specific people that He has brought to mind--and how much I lust after my own self. He continually shows me areas in which I am lacking. Odd to think of it--as we grow closer to the Lord, the more things He shows us that need changing. It's like a grand paradox. But He doesn't show us these things to discourage us or put us down, but so we can make them right--so we can reflect more accurately the love of our wonderful Saviour. Truly He has heard me "in the multitude of [His] mercy." (Ps. 69:13)
It is as the song says "In my weakness He is strong. In my need He leads me on. When I come to the end of all I am and I place my trust in Him, that's when His strength begins...In my weakness, He is strong." (Based on II Cor. 12:10)