Fill my cup Lord
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5
On my way to this month’s God retreat I stopped by a small craft shop to look around. In my exploring I found a cute little handmade cup that reminded me of those you see in museums with biblical artifacts. It was very plain, sand colored and the texture was rough. I decide to buy it and display it on the bookshelf in my prayer room. Over and over in my head I heard the words, “Fill my cup,” and decided that God was giving me the theme for this month’s retreat.
The first morning of the retreat I woke up feeling a bit of melancholy. Fall is in the air and you can feel it in the cooler temperatures and see it in the trees as the leaves are starting to turn. It’s a beautiful season, but I always seem to feel a bit of sadness when summer is over.
As I was sitting by the river I felt this heaviness in my soul and today’s passage came to mind. I couldn’t really explain what I was feeling, but I knew that I needed to do something or the entire day would be spend in a downcast mood. So I began to rehearse my truth scripts and I also thought of my new cup. It was then that I determined I would not leave this place until my cup was full.
Several times throughout the day I would hold the cup in my hands and feel the rough texture of the sand that was baked into the clay. I wondered about the person who made it and the determination it would take to hold the abrasive clay in place until the cup was formed and ready to be fired in the kiln. It must have caused some discomfort, but they also must have believed it was worth it.
What a perfect lesson that was for me. There will be days that are uncomfortable, sad and heavy laden, but when we hold on and withstand those short and momentary troubles we will eventually come out on the other side and see the beauty of what God was forming and creating in us… a priceless work of art.
I started out empty and downcast this morning, but as I put my hope in God and praised Him for where I was and what He was doing, I began to sense my cup being filled. The more I held on to all that He had for me, the more the joy and peace overflowed to the point that I wanted to pour it out on others.
Thank you Lord for holding on to me when I’m abrasive. Thank you for molding me the way You do and for the way You see me, as Your masterpiece. I will forever praise You, My Savior and My God.
