Tommy Wallen returned to his virtual pedestal yesterday morning, continuing to preach on the first book of the bible: Genesis.
The Tennessee father of four, including country music superstar Morgan Wallen, has been using his pastoral background to spread the word on his son’s SiriusXM channel over the past few weeks. This past Sunday, August 9, marked Tommy’s 8th episode titled: Why Did God Create?
During his short seven-minute segment, per the title, he continued his exploration of God’s creation of all things on earth and in heaven above, diving into Genesis chapter two this time around. Now, while it may seem like a loaded question and a very brief amount of time to tackle it, Tommy laid out the answer pretty cohesively, using the word as he always does to back up his sermon.
At the start of every episode, he gives a glimpse into his own testimony, letting the listeners know he’s been a follower of Christ since 1991. For those who aren’t mega-Wallen fans, the Sneedville pastor has also openly spoken in the past about his very own struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
Something that, as he touches on in the episode, ultimately cannot fill the void of yearning for something bigger than oneself. To answer the looming question, “Why did God create everything? Why did he create me?” Tommy is sure to explain that God didn’t create anything in existence out of necessity for himself.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. While humans may never be able to understand why God operates the way he does, that’s kind of the whole point (as frustrating as that may be for some people). What he can explain, though, is that “God made us to be able to enjoy and live off of everything else he created. God made us in his image, and that means he wants us to be like him.”
Tommy then continues to share that we all have a mysterious longing inside of us that nothing can satisfy except God, noting that, “If good cannot occupy that space, something else inevitably will.” He gives a few examples of these void-fillers, such as “business, family, or sports.”
There’s also the flip-side of people who try to shove down the calling for something bigger: “Others try to numb it or ignore it through drug and alcohol use and abuse.” Tommy uses the story of King Solomon to illustrate the problem with this approach, explaining that seeking fulfillment in anything other than the Lord is ultimately vanity: “only God can fulfill that God-shaped hole within us.”
Wrapping up towards the end of the episode, he gives listeners a choice: what are we gonna do to fill that void? Now, while I won’t spoil the whole segment, I think he concludes his message best with this concrete answer to the sermon’s question and his aim with preaching on it:
God created everything for a purpose. He created us to have an intimate relationship with himself. He gave us a void on the inside that desires to be filled with himself, and he gave us creation to point us in the right direction to himself. I’m praying that God uses these brief seven minutes each week to help you that haven’t gotten there yet to find your way to him.
To tune into the whole episode and his previous week’s sermons, check out the full episodes streaming now on the SiriusXM App. You can also catch Tommy’s upcoming shows on Wallen’s Channel 64, airing live at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm ET on the app and in car radios every Sunday. He’ll return next week covering Genesis chapter three.