Lately, I feel like I’m pouring from an empty cup.
You’ve been there.
Whether its your job, your home life or everything else happening around you, sometimes it feels like you simply have nothing left to give.
This is when we are most vulnerable.
It’s when the devil creeps in, sits on our shoulder and uses our weakness to whisper words of negativity in our ear. He tells us that we are not good enough, strong enough and certainly not walking faithfully in our relationship with God.
He tells us our mistakes are never ending and there is no way to start over. More importantly, he convinces us that we cannot pour from an empty cup.
Well, that sneaky snake has it all wrong!
After a decade of failure and heartbreak, here’s what I learned about pouring from what I thought was an empty cup….. a bone dry empty cup to be exact.
I remembered what my cup is designed for
A cup is created to contain things.
Have you ever thought about how many different types of cups are out there? Coffee mugs are ceramic to hold the heat. The shape of a wine glass is designed to release aroma and flavor at exactly the right moment. Vacuum sealed stainless steel tumblers are engineered to keep contents hot or cold for up 24 hours at a time!
Think about how much time and effort has led to the design of all those cups!
We are perfect in design too! Over time, we become slightly chipped, rough around the edges, and terribly cracked but that’s what gives us character, makes us more unique among the rest.
My conclusion?
Even if the cup I pour from has seen better days, I must continue to pour because that’s what I’m designed to do.
I though about the contents of my cup
Have you ever jumped in the car, only to be met with a horrendous smell?
A-HA!
There’s the sippy cup we’ve been looking for all week…….still full of milk of course.
Those are some yucky contents.
From time to time we get to a point where we feel as though life has filled us up with some incredibly yucky events and we aren’t looking forward to pouring anything like that out into the grass.
We battle addiction, financial and marital strain. We lose our loved ones and get turned away for employment. Some of us are burdened with PTSD that locks the mind in a horrible life event.
Think about the woman at the well !
Her life was full of yucky contents, some incredibly regretful life choices. Jesus offered her a drink of from theone and only cleansing spring of water, one that wells up to eternal life.
My conclusion?
I’ve came to understand, my cup (my life), contains water that will never run dry.
I realized it’s okay to pour one drop at a time
Have you ever been told you can’t eat an elephant in one bite?
Ewww!
Waht about this one…..You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take one step at a time.
Think about it!
Sometimes we have the ability to pour out in heavy streams. Every now and then, we become bogged down and that steady stream becomes more like a trickle. Then, we experience moments in life so heavy with burden, we can only contribute one drop at a time.
And that’s okay.
Over time, I’ve come to know, God has the power to make that one little drop quench any thirst as needed.
Keep pouring until we meet again.
