Many of you reading this post are in need. Perhaps you need healing. Maybe you need comfort. You may be in financial need or you may be in need of a friend. Whatever your need today, I want you to know that Jesus wants your cup to overflow.
“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (Psalm 16:5-6, NIV84).
What beautiful words David penned to describe the peace, security, and blessings that come from God when we trust Him and look to Him! David knew that he had nothing good in his life apart from God (v. 2). He wrote this Psalm as a prayer of trust in God to protect him from great danger–and he spent most of his life in great danger, running from those who wanted to take his life.
Does Your Cup Overflow?
David knew what it was like to walk with God and trust in Him. Psalm 23 is probably one of the most well-known and often-quoted chapters in all the Bible, yet it is full of rich truths many of us probably overlook.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still 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” (emphasis mine).
David was a man who suffered greatly both at the hands of others and as a result of his own sin. David knew the fear of running for his life, the shame of adultery, the pain of losing a child, and the betrayal of his own family. Yet he could say that he wanted for nothing because his cup overflowed.
You see, God didn’t just give David a full cup. God gave him a cup overflowing with peace, rest, righteousness, protection, comfort, provision, anointing, goodness, and love (Psalm 23). Why? Because David’s hope was in the Lord alone–not in himself, his friends, Oprah, or Dr. Phil. David may have sinned, but his life wasn’t characterized by sin. When he repented, he turned his heart back to God and lived his life for God.
The overflow is in Jesus, not our circumstances!
David was human. He made bad choices. He sinned. He got it right a lot of the time, but sometimes he got it really wrong. And he suffered grave consequences for his sin. But he repented. He agreed with God about his sin. His ability to say “my cup overflows” had nothing to do with him or his circumstances and everything to do with his God.
Jesus said in John 10:10,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
That’s our portion, our cup – the Lord Himself! He comes to live inside us and fills us, every part, until we can exclaim, like David, “My cup overflows!”
The blessings that flow from our cups are not the result of a perfect life, either. Sometimes life really stinks. The overflow comes from knowing God and having Him with us and in us no matter what we face. In the midst of confusion, He brings peace; in the midst of darkness, He is light; in the midst of pain, He brings comfort; in our guilt and shame, He is mercy and grace. We, too, will face the consequences of sin as David did, but we have the opportunity in Christ to turn from sin, surrender to God, and allow His love to fill us and satisfy us with new life.
Let His overflow flow over to others.
Psalm 116 doesn’t name David as its writer, but I like to think that he was. The language sounds so much like the David that I have come to know and love. And look what the Psalmist stated in verses 12-13:
“How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” (NIV).
In this season of reflecting on the cross and the sacrifice of Christ, we are reminded of the cup of His wrath poured out on Jesus for us and the cup of the new covenant sealed with His blood. Let us also remember that a life lived for Jesus will overflow with blessings and peace. How can we repay Him? Lift up the cup of salvation and proclaim it to the world around you. Call on the name of the Lord in prayer and worship. Share the love of Jesus with your family and friends.
We live in a world of confusion and chaos, but the Good Shepherd will lead us beside the still waters. He will restore our souls and lead us in righteousness. He will protect us against the enemy and provide for us so that we shall not want for anything but Him!
He is more than enough. We can live in the overflow! All it takes is for us to surrender our lives like David did. Don’t seek to fill your own cup. Don’t live by your own rules. Let God assign you your cup and your portion. I promise, He pours big!
