Let Your Life Overflow
Let Your Life Overflow
I was reading Psalm 23 the other day and pulled to a dead stop at three familiar words: “My cup overflows.”
What in the world does that mean?
When something overflows, we usually think of waste. Water that overflows a dam rushes out to sea. Gas that overflows a tank pollutes the ground. Coffee that overflows a cup stains the carpet. Milk that overflows a measuring cup drains down the sink. Most folks tend to equate “overflow” with “waste” or “squandered resource.”
But what about a life that overflows? What about a man or woman who brims over with the joy and grace and love of God? Is it all down the drain? Listen to how Romans 15:13 describes it:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God must think that sort of overflow is a good idea. He doesn’t seem a bit worried about a wasted resource.
Paul might have put his finger on a reason for that in his letter to the Thessalonians:
May the LORD make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
What a picture! God doesn’t intend your life to overflow down the storm drain or evaporate into the air. He wants it to soak others! The spillover of His love and goodness in our lives is to benefit and encourage those around us.
You can’t escape it. It’s unavoidable. If you want to make an impact for Christ on your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers, then let God fill you with His joy and peace as you trust Him—just like it says in Romans. He’ll fill that cup of yours to the brim, and then pour in more. And over it goes, right over the edges of your soul. Your love will stream out in all directions. Your joy will cascade like an artesian well, soaking into the thirsty ground of the discouraged and cynical lives around you.
“It was by the generosity of God … that the love of God overflowed for the benefit of all men,” Paul wrote in Romans. God wants you to benefit others, too. So let your cup run over. It’s no waste. Nothing will go down the drain or be lost. Trust Him. Obey Him. Then let God open His floodgates in your life, pouring in more of His grace and peace than you could possibly contain.
Listen, you conservative Christians … God has never asked any of us to conserve His love.