My Cup Overflows

Psalm 23 (NIV84): “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Nearly every one of our girls has memorized Psalm 23, and for many, it is their favorite passage of scripture. There are many truths to discover in this passage, but today my attention is on “my cup overflows.”

The meaning of this statement is twofold: 1. Abundance, and 2. A welcome to stay. In the time that this psalm was written, the overflowing cup had a special meaning: When a guest would come to stay and dine with friends or family, their cup would be filled to the brim and then purposefully overflowed…that is, of course, if they were welcome to stay. Having our cups overflowed by our creator first indicates His willingness to bless abundantly, beyond what we could ever need; and second, it indicates His desire for us not to leave and instead remain with Him in His house.

When a guest had his cup overflow, he or she knew that they were being welcomed to stay longer…another meal, another night, and sometimes a lifetime. In the same way, we have each been invited into the house of our Lord, and Psalm 23 declares that we are welcomed stay there with our God forever. Our cups truly overflow.

I feel blessed to be part of a ministry that makes it clear that our sincere desire is to offer an overflowing cup to each of our rescued children. We invite them to remain in our family for the next meal, the next night, and their entire lifetime. And in truth, we make this offer in response to our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God who is first offering each of these children an overflowing cup, an invitation to remain with Him, and He with them, forever.

So today I have this overwhelming sense of blessing to be part of God’s offering of the overflowing cup. To be used by our God to pour into the lives of each of these children, such that their cups would overflow. Each time I hear our little ones and young adults recite this verse, I am now reminded of this blessing. And it is such a joy.

And finally, I realize keenly that my own cup is overflowing. I have told the Lord that being a part of the lives of each of these children that are now in our care makes me quite content. I need nothing else to feel God’s abundant blessing and to notice my own cup running over. And yet, God has even more in store. Every newly rescued child, every way He continues to grow the influence and impact of the ministry, every plan He has for our future to make His name great in India. Yes, my cup continues to overflow.

I praise the Lord my God that not only does my cup overflow in Jesus Christ, but that He allows me to be an instrument of His overflowing the cups of many others. And I am not unique in this…this is God’s design for every one of His children. We are like a pyramid of cups, starting with a wide base, and being built row by row, higher and higher. Wherever we are in the pyramid, as we allow the Lord to pour into us through our brothers and sisters in Christ, and as our cups overflow, we cannot help but overflow into the cups immediately below us. And so the Lord has designed our life in Christ such that being filled and filling others…being overflowed and overflowing others…is the only possibility.

I encourage you to read Psalm 23, meditate on it, and praise God for all of the truths He has given through that passage. May you receive His overflowing love and grace, in turn offering that same love and grace of Christ to others. May we each continue to fill and be filled, remembering that there is one source: Christ our Lord. Amen.