My Cup Runs Over
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” Psalm 23:5
I enjoy meeting with people. A regular part of my life is sitting down with people, listening, and walking alongside them on their journey with God. It’s a privilege that I always treasure about being a pastor.
Giving ourselves to others is an investment: a pouring out of our heart, time, attention and resources. In choosing to pour ourselves into others, there is a natural loss of our own resources of energy, strength and life. How do we renew our personal resources? How do we live a life of overflow?
In our scripture today from Psalm 23, King David gives us a clue. We can pour into others as we allow God to give to us, anoint us and fill us. Let’s examine these three elements of an overflowing life: God prepares a table for us, He anoints us, and He fills us to overflowing.
Christianity is the only faith I know where God prepares a table for us. Most religions require us to do lots of good and important things so God will respond to us. If we do things right, then we will be in right standing with Him. Following Christ is different. God prepares a feast for us out of His love, not because we are good enough or deserve it. That’s good news!
He brings to us the food and resources of His love, provision and presence. He takes the initiative. He sets a table for me, He fills the table with riches and He sets a place for me with my name on it. I am a favored son, not a slave. I eat at the Father’s bountiful table. There is plenty for me and everyone else.
God also pours on me the anointing of His Holy Spirit. When I pray for more of Him He pours out the Holy Spirit upon my heart. His Spirit fills me, refreshes me and empowers me. I am not an empty cup begging for water. I become a cup overflowing with rivers of living water. God anoints me with a freshness that is continually being renewed. All I need to do is come to Him, ask, and receive.
Lastly God pours out His love and life until my life overflows. I am so dependent upon this aspect of my walk with Christ. I get dry as I serve the Lord. I pour out and pour out and sometimes forget to take time to let God pour into me. Dryness sets in and I have little or nothing for others.
When I slow down and sit with God, His life starts to flow into my life. Water and refreshing start to open me up to new thoughts, new truths, new life. It’s awesome and God’s resources are never-ending. He is an ocean of life, ready to pout Himself out to those who ask.
Let’s seek a healthy balance of inflow and outflow this week. A great illustration of this is a pond. If there are lots of fresh streams flowing into the pond, it remains healthy and can sustain a large, diverse amount of plants and animals. If there are no fresh streams flowing into it, the pond dries up.
When there is no outflow from the pond, it becomes stagnant and can’t sustain life. Things begin to rot, smell bad and die. It’s a picture of a life that is lived completely selfishly. Things start to stink and die. We need inflow and we need outflow. A diverse inflow of different streams actually results in a richer, more diverse pond. We need lots of different streams flowing into our lives. Ask God for more streams!
Get some time alone with God today. Turn off everything and sit quietly before Him. He loves to pour into his children. He has more than enough life, love and energy for your needs today. He will freely give you what you need. Freely receive all He has for you, and then freely give it away to someone else.
That is a life worth living!