Can You Fill My Cup?
May 2014
"Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 NLT
"You can drink from all sorts of wells, but unless the source of your water is the Living Water Himself, you will never be satisfied."
It's 6am; you're up and ready to tackle the demands of your day. You may be the person who goes on a 3 mile run, or the person that says, "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus," or maybe you are the person that pushes the snooze button at least 5 times....later regretting doing so because you find yourself running late to work/school/etc. I can admit that I have been all three of these people. In college, I was definitely the girl who loved her 8am classes, but at the same time was not much of a morning person. Maybe you can relate? Whatever person you are, I have a question for you:
"Where do you go to fill YOUR cup?"
John 4:13-14 NLT
"You can drink from all sorts of wells, but unless the source of your water is the Living Water Himself, you will never be satisfied."
It's 6am; you're up and ready to tackle the demands of your day. You may be the person who goes on a 3 mile run, or the person that says, "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus," or maybe you are the person that pushes the snooze button at least 5 times....later regretting doing so because you find yourself running late to work/school/etc. I can admit that I have been all three of these people. In college, I was definitely the girl who loved her 8am classes, but at the same time was not much of a morning person. Maybe you can relate? Whatever person you are, I have a question for you:
"Where do you go to fill YOUR cup?"
Before some of us even get out of bed we go to the phone and check our messages. If we are a social media person, we run to our Facebook, Instagram. and Twitter.....inadvertently looking for someone to fill our cup. Once we find that it did not really satisfy, throughout the remainder of the day we go to the people in our lives. We run to parents, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc., hoping that their presence, validation, and affirmations will somehow fill the void in our hearts....but THEY DON'T....better yet, THEY CAN'T! Listen friend, the people in our lives, if ordained by God to be in our lives, are truly a blessing from the Lord, but they cannot satisfy us or fill our cups. Imagine an empty cup, now think about all of the things and people that are a part of your life and yes I do mean "things." Now imagine putting all of those things and people in this cup. Sure, the cup would be "full," but there would still be some spaces left opened. Those spaces my friend, are spaces that only the Living Water Himself can fill. Now imagine that instead of running to your phone, computer, people or whatever else, that the first thing you do in the morning is run into the presence of the Lord. Matter of fact, we should be so hungry for the presence of God that we absolutely will not go out of our house or tackle any kind of project until we have spent some time with Him because we know that we can drink from all sorts of wells, but unless the source of our water is the Living Water Himself, we will never be satisfied. Even though I am not a morning person, I made a decision to get up every morning an hour and a half earlier than usual to spend time with the love of my life.....Jesus. How do I do this?
(Note: This is not the rule of how to spend time with Jesus! Devotion is a lifestyle, not just a time we set aside. There is no condemnation in this! You shouldn't feel horrible if you're not able to spend an hour in prayer every morning and two hours reading your Bible in the evening. Those things are good, but there's no formula you have to follow. The goal of this post is to encourage you to go into the presence of the Lord first thing in the morning and allow Him to fill your cup....no matter what it looks like for you. Let God lead you!)
(Note: This is not the rule of how to spend time with Jesus! Devotion is a lifestyle, not just a time we set aside. There is no condemnation in this! You shouldn't feel horrible if you're not able to spend an hour in prayer every morning and two hours reading your Bible in the evening. Those things are good, but there's no formula you have to follow. The goal of this post is to encourage you to go into the presence of the Lord first thing in the morning and allow Him to fill your cup....no matter what it looks like for you. Let God lead you!)
- First thing I do is turn on some praise and worship music and dance before the Lord. I've learned that life at times can be hard, but one thing I know for sure is that I CAN'T worry and worship at the same time! Worship sets my heart and mind in the right place. It shifts my focus from the problem to the Problem Solver. It brings down the strongholds of sadness, hurt, and hopelessness. It restores, fills, motivates, and blesses me! It's proclaiming that God is BIGGER than anything I am facing or will face for that day! During my praise and worship time, I not only am singing, but I'm casting all of my cares onto the Lord. It's me pouring out and allowing God to pour in. If you don't have time to do anything else in the morning...at least turn on some praise and worship music and pray! (SOME of my favorite praise and worship leaders are Tasha Cobbs, Kim Walker-Smith, Housefires Worship, Kari Jobe, CeCe Winans, Darlene Zschech, David and Nicole Binion, Shana Wilson, William Murphy, William McDowell, Catherine Mullins, Steffany Gretzinger, Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, Hillsong, Israel Houghton, Helen Baylor, and many more)
2. After that, I dig in! I grab my Bible, my iPad (to look up different translations), my notecard ring, my prayer journal, my personal journal, and either a book I am reading or a Bible study that I am doing. (I will admit: I am a huge Bible study girl! I absolutely LOVE them! Most people do Bible studies with a group, I on the other hand have done them solo.....so it works either way. They usually consist of an hour long video session (once a week), which you can buy online at www.lifeway.com and then 5 days of "homework" which will usually take 30-45 minutes a day. It sounds like a lot, but if you are looking for something new that will set your heart on fire and cause you to fall in love with the Word all over again....definitely head to Lifeway and allow the Lord to lead you (One of my favorite Bible Study authors is Beth Moore)! You won't regret it.....I promise! I usually do a Bible study during my breaks from school, so for example Christmas break is usually great for me as well as the beginning of summer! I usually start with that, but if I'm not doing a Bible Study I usually get a book that focuses on an area I need to mature in. If you know me, you know that I usually spend my Friday nights (if not at home reading, cooking, or watching netflix/movies) at Lifeway Christian book store, or shopping (*wink). Once something catches my eyes, I usually pray and allow the Holy Spirit to lead me before purchasing. (It's important to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you because YOU CANNOT read EVERYTHING!) Once I have a book, I then read a chapter or two or until I am full and then take notes. I highlight certain quotes in the book that are especially for me and then write them down in my personal journal to remember. (If you don't have time to read, download a podcast or go to youtube and look up a preacher that has really encouraged you and listen to it while you are getting ready or while you are exercising in the morning----do what you have to do. Some of my favorite authors/preachers are Bill Winston, Casey Doss, Creflo Dollar, Mark Hankins, and many more) I then get out my Bible and allow the Lord to lead me to a chapter(s) or verse(s) or if I'm worried, discouraged, fearful, etc.,I look up scriptures that focus on that particular subject. Once I do that, I get my notecard ring out and write out the scripture(s) in the translation that I like the most. (I usually keep this notecard ring in my purse so that I can do as Joshua 1:8 says and that is, "to meditate on it day and night.") I then take out my prayer journal (which is a simple and plain journal from Walmart), and just write to the Lord. I usually start by thanking Him for everything that He has done, is doing, and will do. And then, I pray for people (family and peers). If you have ever sent me a prayer request, you're in that journal, if you have ever been a part of my life in any way or are a part of my life....you are in that journal! I truly believe in praying for people...not just saying that I do. (Quick note: If a person crosses your mind and you haven't spoken to them in a while...pray for them)!
3. I then do as David did and I encourage myself in the Lord! As we talked about in the post "Praying God's Word" I pray the Word over myself and my day and usually call them "Faith Confessions!" For example:
"God, You said that you will never leave me or forsake me. So I say with confidence, You are my helper and I will NOT be afraid!" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Note that: while we are spending time in His presence, we are saying:
"God, You said that you will never leave me or forsake me. So I say with confidence, You are my helper and I will NOT be afraid!" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Note that: while we are spending time in His presence, we are saying:
We're not looking for someone else to do it, nor are we running to social media or whatever else.....instead, we are running to the only One who can really fill us up and satisfy. This is the journey that we take when we first wake up in the morning.......
I LOVE that third picture. Once we've spent time in His presence and have allowed Him to pour into us, we're not just full, but we're overflowing with JOY, LOVE, PEACE, STRENGTH, FAITH, PERSEVERANCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, and everything that we need to face the day and walk victoriously. This is what I call the John 10:10 life....."I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." And what I love about Jesus is that He doesn't just fill us up to the overflow so that we can be satisfied, but so that He can use us to minister to, encourage, or to help someone else! Friend, once you have spent time in His presence, you'll be surprised with how God uses you to encourage someone else via phone, text, Facebook post, or just a good ole fashion one on one, face-to-face talk! So this week, when your alarm clock goes off, before checking those 50 messages that can wait, and before logging onto the computer or sending your, "Good morning text"......go to the throne. If you need some help starting or just need something new, try what I do, if you aren't feeling what I do, just go to God.... pray, read your Word, and allow God to fill your cup.
Have a fabulous day!
Have a fabulous day!