--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only when you realize your…" description: "\"It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.\" — Mother Teresa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg" --- # It is only when you realize your nothingness, your… ![“It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.” quote by Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg) > “It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.” [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing emptiness allows divine presence to fill the void. **In simple terms:** Seeing emptiness lets God fill you. Key Takeaway Embrace humility to receive spiritual fullness. Themes humility spirituality faith Mood reflective hopeful Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal prayer - counseling - spiritual retreats Key Concepts theology self‑transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging emptiness change your life? - What does “God filling you” mean to you? A Different Perspective If emptiness is not felt, the insight may not apply. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Emptiness God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-god-640201/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Nothingness Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness-emptiness-640202/) [Realize Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-nothingness-640203/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Silence of the heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-of-the-heart/) ## Related quotes > [In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-the-silence-of-the-heart-god-speaks-if-you-face-god-in-prayer-and/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Before there can be fullness there must be emptiness. Before God can fill us with Himself we must first be emptied of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/before-there-can-be-fullness-there-must-be-emptiness-before-god-can/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [No person, possession, profession, or position ever fills the cup of a wounded, empty heart. It's an emptiness only God can fill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/no-person-possession-profession-or-position-ever-fills-the-cup-of-a/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“No, emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is a type of existence. You must use this existential emptiness to fill yourself.” His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/no-emptiness-is-not-nothingness-emptiness-is-a-type-of-existence-you/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Nothingness not being nothing, nothingness being emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/nothingness-not-being-nothing-nothingness-being-emptiness/) [Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/) > [“Awakening of the Absolute is impossible without nothingness or emptiness. Here, we see the natural force of duality or relativity in action—the relationship between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/awakening-of-the-absolute-is-impossible-without-nothingness-or/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [God speaks in the silence of the heart, and we listen. And then we speak to God from the fullness of our heart, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/god-speaks-in-the-silence-of-the-heart-and-we-listen-and-then-we/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The beginning of prayer is silence. If we really want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-beginning-of-prayer-is-silence-if-we-really-want-to-pray-we-must/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Silence of the heart is necessary so you can hear God everywhere - in the closing of the door, in the person who needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/silence-of-the-heart-is-necessary-so-you-can-hear-god-everywhere-in/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives--the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-is-a-terrible-hunger-for-love-we-all-experience-that-in-our/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We need silence to be able to touch souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-need-silence-to-be-able-to-touch-souls/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-always-begin-my-prayer-in-silence-for-it-is-in-the-silence-of-the/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Speak tenderly; let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/speak-tenderly-let-there-be-kindness-in-your-face-in-your-eyes-in/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Souls of prayer are souls of great silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/souls-of-prayer-are-souls-of-great-silence/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/before-you-speak-it-is-necessary-for-you-to-listen-for-god-speaks-in/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More by Mother Teresa > [Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/love-is-a-fruit-in-season-at-all-times-and-within-the-reach-of-every/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/holy-living-consists-in-doing-god-s-work-with-a-smile/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I don't look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-don-t-look-at-anything-every-person-whether-he-is-hindu-muslim-or/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We may not be able to give much but we can always give the joy that springs in a heart that is in LOVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-may-not-be-able-to-give-much-but-we-can-always-give-the-joy-that/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/maybe-if-i-didn-t-pick-up-that-one-person-i-wouldn-t-have-picked-up/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/people-are-unrealistic-illogical-and-self-centered-love-them-anyway/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-by-forgiving-that-one-is-forgiven/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-more-we-empty-ourselves-the-more-room-we-give-god-to-fill-us/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/joy-is-prayer-joy-is-strength-joy-is-love-joy-is-a-net-of-love-by/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Explore all 951 Mother Teresa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mother Teresa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothingness-your-emptiness-that-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothingness-your-emptiness-that-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/mother-teresa-196_emptiness_it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothing_841008.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.” — Mother Teresa", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mother Teresa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is only when you realize...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothingness-your-emptiness-that-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothingness-your-emptiness-that-god/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```