Kneeling down on the floor of my hotel room in my life on the road full-time for Jesus and ministry with my special needs ministry dogs, I poured out a whole bunch of love to ministry dogs paralyzed Miss Mercy hit by likely a truck years ago and Grace dumped at a gas station and hit by two cars long ago. Within minutes God lovingly and graciously placed this message on my heart.
I was talking in my little Mommie-dog voice teasing about all the love Miss Mercy in particular craves. I told her she should lie by the open door of the hotel room as she sometimes does so people passing by will come and give her love and attention. That’s when I pictured and talked aloud about Miss Mercy’s cup. What cup? Let me explain.
I imagined Miss Mercy sitting by the open hotel room door with a cup like someone who is homeless seeking to collect money. Only Miss Mercy wouldn’t have any desire for money nor even food and treats. What Miss Mercy would want most of all would be LOVE. She always wants love. She is so sweet and loving. She goes up and down the beach in her wheelchair finding people to give her love. She goes up to strangers and parks her wheelchair right by them to get as much love and petting as she can possibly get. Often, I have to come over to her and pull her away from her favorite thing of all. Love. And more love.
Why do I share this with you? Because it dawned on me when I was remarking to the dogs about my little vision of Miss Mercy’s cup that we all have “cups” so to speak that we seek to be filled with something or someone. We all have desires. We all have needs and wants. But I wonder how often we seek to fill our cups with what should NOT be our priority. When our cups are full, when they even overflow, what are they filled with and do they overflow with? What and whom do we need most of all? What and whom do we desire first and foremost? What are our own personal cups all about?
Should it not be our greatest desire to hold out our cups and have them filled with the Lord, His Spirit, with His love, with His spiritual blessings like His mercy, hope, joy, peace, grace, the Bible, wisdom, goodness, fellowship with Him, kindness, comfort, healing, and more?
Should we not hunger and thirst more than anything for God almighty and His ways and His will for us? Oh, yes, yes, yes! Our cups and desiring and seeking for them to be filled should be about the Lord God almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God, His fellowship, communing with Him, spending time in His presence, His lordship and friendship, His reign, His will and His ways, His love, mercy, grace, Truth of the Bible, peace, hope, joy, rejoicing, comfort, healing, and on and on. ALL – yes ALL – about the Lord and His will for our lives!
We should yearn and hunger and thirst and crave and desire and seek that our cups – our hearts and lives – be filled with the Lord and all He desires to fill our “cups” with!
Our cups should reflect what in our hearts is our greatest treasure. Our number one. Yes, our #1. What, and who, is our greatest treasure? Who is our #1? Oh, may it be the Lord! Oh yes, AMEN! Jesus #1, Hallelujah, YES!
Let us hold out our “cups” before the Lord and the Bible and cry out to Him to be filled with Him and His love and all He desires to fill up our cups with. And may the overflow of our cups pour out upon the world all around us, oh yes, AMEN! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! To the Lord be all glory, AMEN!
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” Psalms 23:5
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5
“”Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
Please meditate – reflect on – and pray about if you are so led your own personal “cup”. Do you need to change your priorities when it comes to how you desire and seek that your heart and life be filled?
May Jesus be your #1 – forevermore! Amen! Jesus #1, YES!