Something Out Of Nothing
VoydPhil has been a lifelong vision. It started small and simple and without knowing
where it was leading or even that it was going someplace. It has been fascinating to see
how, over the decades, the vision has grown from just a nice, undefined thought into the
clear passion it now is. Plus, to think that it is still only beginning and will lead to where the
Lord directs it, is what makes being in God’s leading so joyous. Let me take you back over
many years.
Fill the Void – Dude
In my teen years, I was a fairly decent skateboarder. My children have a very difficult time
believing that, until I jump on their board and show them that Pops still’s got it – at least in
my mind. Back in my day I could do some simple tricks out on the driveway of my parent’s
house. That wasn’t my true forte. What I usually did was find the biggest, steepest hill
around; squat down so low that I almost disappeared, and fly down the hill. I’m sure if I
knew now how fast I was going then, I would be terrified. I never did any half-pipe stuff,
because there wasn’t one around, but I always thought it was way cool how the kids flew
around on one of those things. I liked it so much I painted the words “Void Fill” on my
skateboard, meaning the void of the half-pipe being filled by the skater. I’m sure you can
visualize that fairly easily.
Those years in my teens were also the time that I became a Christian. So, the words on
the deck of my skateboard also meant to me, something much more important. The filling
of the void in my life by Jesus The Messiah. Like most, if not all teens, I had my share of
issues to deal with, but mostly it was trying to figure out what life meant and did I have a
part in it. I had a big void in my life and it was filled by the only possible item that could have
done the job – Jesus.
At the time I was the only one that knew the true hidden meaning of “void fill”. I was a new
and young Christian and not yet confident to be so bold as to witness to others. I hoped
that somehow those two words would be enough to convey what they actual meant to me. I’
m sure no one understood it except for the skater connotation, and maybe not even that
one.
“F” as in Philippians
It was years later that I started to change the spelling of the name. I changed it to “Void
Phil”. That was to be a reference to the book Philippians. At the time, I wasn’t sure why I
wanted to do that. There was nothing that came to mind about Philippians I wanted to bring
to focus; I just knew that there was something of importance in that book. I read the book
over several times looking for what it was, but found no verse that jumped out at me as the
one to use as a banner for a ministry. So I sort of dropped the issue and moved on in life.
Later on, I thought since “Phil” was changed, I would change it to “Voyd”. At the moment it
is just for balance in the purposely misspelling from the original two words. I’m sure in
time it will be revealed to me why the spelling of voyd. As for now, I’m still waiting on the
reasoning. Maybe you have a reason, let me know if you do.
“My God (And Savior) It’s Full Of Stars”
I finally found the reason for the name change to “Phil” in Philippians. We need to go to
the Old Testament to find its origin. It starts in Jeremiah, and not only is it about the “Phil”
part, but it also has to do with the “Voyd”. 4:23 (KJV) “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was
without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.” I see the void in this verse
as it has to do with the earth and the void that is in its inhabitants. Also as it has to do with
that part in each one of us. We all have it; some just try to hide it or cover it up with things of
the world. But it still is there. The void that can only be filled by God.
Notice, in this verse the reference to heavens and the absence, or void, of light. The
verse that eluded me all these years in Philippians is 2:15 (NIV) “so that you may become
blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in
which you shine like stars in the universe” First there is more mentioning of “Voyd”. The
“crooked and depraved generation” is the void in us without God. Also, the “universe” is a
physical void.
As my modified quote from 2001, A Space Odyssey says above, God has filled the
universe with stars. It may be a void but it is filled at the same time. In the Philippians verse
we see the “filling” with the shining of the stars. When translated in to our mission, the
filling of the void, becomes God’s light shining in the void within us.
Bringing It Together
Take the two verses together. The universe is a void without stars (or light that is
missing from Jeremiah) now filled with stars from Philippians. Likewise, our light (God’s
light in us) is to fill the void in the depraved generation (those around us without God’s
light).
Thus “VoydPhil” is the name that took many years to develop to mean the passing of
God into the lives of those around us. The filling of the voids in each one of us.
By the way, I still have my original skateboard and I’m looking for a big hill.
VoydPhil - Phil-ing #4
About The Name
By Mark E. Benjamin
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