October is almost over. What a whirlwind year it has been and I don’t know how it went so fast or where it went. I feel as if I’m running on empty this time of year.
We haven’t had cooler weather for long lengths at a time so doesn’t really seem like fall. It usually gets cooler when the fair is in Perry, but that certainly was not the case this year. It was hot and muggy.
I used to enjoy the fair but as I’ve gotten older, it doesn’t entice me as much. I like some of the exhibits and occasionally one of the concerts. Of course, it’s not the fair without a candy or caramel apple and that’s about the extent of my eating fair food since I am gluten intolerant. Thus, that’s probably another reason I don’t enjoy it as much!
I was thankful for the rain this week though, as we really did need it. Supposedly, cooler weather is on it’s way as well. We shall see.
This past Saturday, I spoke at a women’s conference in Cordele. Theme for it was “Fill My Cup, Lord.” So many people seem to be running on empty and need to be refilled. We can get free refills at most restaurants when our cup becomes empty. Likewise, when our car’s gas tank gets on empty, it has to be refilled. The “e” on the fuel gauge lets you know when you’re empty. We don’t have that kind of gauge and sometimes we don’t want to admit that we are running on empty. But our bodies tell us if we pay attention.
When we have gone through storm after storm after storm, we can feel we are on empty. If left to our own devices and we try to fill our cups by ourselves, it can be filled with what the world has to offer us. That could be pride, jealousy, envy, unforgiveness or something else worldly.
But God’s mercies are new every morning and if we ask Him and make sure our cup is turned right side up, He fills us with blessings beyond measure. God fills our cup with patience, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, peace, understanding, gratitude, hope, love, healing, compassion and other good things.
If our priorities are all wrong and out of whack, our cups become empty. When we fail to make time for God or fail to spend time reading His love letter to us, we can become empty. Or, if we forget God’s greatest weapon – prayer, we find ourselves empty.
We have the choice of which cup to choose. But for God to fill our cup we have to empty it of ourselves. That means giving up control of what goes inside. That’s hard for many people. But doing so gives more blessings than we can imagine. Most of all, it doing so brings peace to your soul.
God offers refills that never run dry and they are unlimited. You see without God we are nothing and can do nothing and our cups will always be on empty. An empty cup means we are draining ourselves because of self-reliance, ambitions, speculations and fears about the future. There are people who live their entire lives never knowing the satisfaction of having God fill their cup. That’s heartbreaking to me.
Even those who go to church all the time can end up feeling empty if they aren’t ready to take God at His word and let Him have control. They don’t expect God to bother Himself by being involved in their lives. They just figure they can do the church thing, get just enough of God to be at peace and fulfill their religious responsibilities. We have to come to the end of ourselves to be ready to receiving the filling of what God has to offer.
Faithful obedience is required for us to keep our cup filled and our sin self doesn’t always want to do what God requires of us. Even when faced with things that don’t make sense, we have to trust and believe anyway. Keeping our cups filled is limited only by our capacity to receive and believe. God’s power is inexhaustible. The enjoyment of spiritual goodness increases the desire to our cups to remain filled.
God offers more than an abundant supply for our cups. It is never God who fails but always us who come to the end of our capacity. We have to prepare ourselves to accept what God has for us. Maybe your cup is cracked from your circumstances or your past. If so, anything that is put in it will run out. We let the world and its sin crack and tarnish our cup. We have to depend on and allow Jesus to repair those cracks, to shine us up and make us new, worthy vessels.
Let God fill your cup. It doesn’t have to be porcelain or plastic or even your cupped hands toward the Lord. The cup is just a metaphor. You just have to ask to be filled. The living water God offers is real and if you trust Him your cup will overflow with goodness and mercy. When it overflows you should share it with others.
Whatever you need to today, hold out your cup to God. We choose your Lord. Come, fill our cup Lord.©2017

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com