John 7:38 “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” ~CSB

Sometimes during our ministry journey we might say, “I don’t think I can be of much help because I’m going through something myself.” Or we may say that popular statement, “I can’t preach from an empty cup.” If we as believers step back and relate the Word of God to that statement, we will find that the word contradicts it. We may very well feel some kind of way, but the statement about our cup is not necessarily true.

God’s word is the truth. And according to God’s word our cups are never empty. Think about it. We are not who we used to be. This is because God has brought us from a mighty long way. He has blessed us with gifts and talents along that journey. The endurance of our trials has trained us to handle the power from God to do good in this world. In other words, God has equipped us for His will in this world. Because of our experiences with God’s miracle in our lives, our spiritual cup never drains or becomes empty. A great example of this is in what Jesus said to the woman at the well. (John 4:13-14)

He said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again.” We drink from the world’s water ‘physically’ every day. This is why we get tired and emotionally drained. Sometimes we need the rest, and take the time to recover from our pain and struggle. But it’s the power from Jesus that helps us to keep going. Jesus continues by saying, “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him, will never get thirsty again.”

Even though our physical cup becomes empty, it can still be powered by our spiritual cup that is never empty. In fact, because of God, His love for us and His blessings to us, our cups run over! (Psalm 23:5). That is an overflow of love, power and strength always available to us, no matter how we feel. It is this overflow that contradicts our earlier statement, because with God our cup is always full. And we should be ready when God is ready to use us. No matter how we feel.

This very well may have been the case with Jesus. He may not have 'felt' like carrying that cross up that mountain to be crucified, but His overflowing cup from the Father allowed Him to surpass His weak physical strength and complete His mission of salvation. Remember God has done the same for us. The next time we feel ourselves needing a minute to get ourselves together, by all means, take it. But don’t rest too long. Know that God will always give us what we need to accomplish His mission.

He tells us in the text above, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” If you believe, then your cup is never empty.

May God bless and keep you in His love and protection as you journey in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

Esther 4:14 “What if you don’t say anything at this time? Then help for the Jews will come from another place. But you and your family will die. Who knows? It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.” ~NIRV

The story of Esther is one of faith and courage. Faith in God and courage to stand wherever He takes us. I won’t go into the whole story, please read it for yourself, but God’s plan for Esther put her in a position to be queen, despite who she was and where she came from. Our text is the part of the story where her people were in danger because of a policy the king unknowingly made.

As queen she had the power and influence to go to the king on behalf of her people. But during this time there were rules in approaching the king. These rules also applied to her, as his queen. If these rules were broken, it could mean her death sentence. She knew that she may be the only hope for her people’s salvation, but she was afraid. She goes to and seeks advice from Mordecai, her relative. He simply tells her that he is aware that she is afraid, but if she does nothing, God will still save His children in another way other than through her. He also says in verse 14 in reference of her doing nothing, “…but you and your family will die…”

As believers we will come to a point in our lives where we know the right thing to do. But we hesitate because there are consequences that will come from ‘doing the right thing’. Most of the time we are afraid and do not want to face those consequences, so we don’t do anything. We remain silent. According to the scripture, the question is, what if we are, where we are, because God wants to work His miracle through us? What if we knew that everything, we are afraid of, would never touch us because God is not going to allow anything to prosper against His work through us?

Mordecai says in verse 14, “It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.” In our lives, maybe God blessed us with our promotion to do something about the wrong doings in our workplace. Maybe God allowed us to be step parents for His reasons. It doesn’t matter if the child gives us resistance, God blessed the relationship of us and that child because he wants to perform a miracle in both lives. Looking at these two examples, we shouldn’t fear losing a promotion because God allowed us that position to do some good in His name. We should not become weary of our parent positions with our stepchildren because God blessed those relationships even before they came together.

​Don’t let the world keep us away from God’s complete work in us. Because Esther trusted God, her faith allowed God to use her to save her people. Just think of the power God will use in us because of our faith in Him. We should believe because, after all, God believes in us enough to use us where we are.

May God bless and keep you protected in His love and grace as we journey in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.” ~NIRV

When I was younger, my parents would tell me to do things. Often, I would get frustrated. I wouldn’t say anything out loud to them but, in my mind, I would have thoughts like, ‘I’m busy doing something! Why do I have to do it now?’ Or the times I had to do chores around the house like washing dishes, or yardwork, even being told by my father to change the car’s tires. Again, in my mind I would ask, ‘Why me?’

But when I got older, I became a man and set aside my childish ways, I can now look back and understand why things happened the way they did. I didn’t know it then, but my parents were preparing me. In other words, they were teaching me God’s timing. For example, when my parents called, I had to develop the will power to move when they called in spite of how I felt about moving. No matter what I was doing, I had to drop it and move at the sound of my parents’ voice. This taught me that God will call us at any time. As believers, to witness or even be apart of God’s miracle we have move on His time, not ours. Whatever we have going on when He calls, is not as important as what God has planned.

The chores I had to do taught me discipline. It taught me to be grateful. As children we live in a home that God has allowed our parents to provide for us. We had a responsibility to its upkeep as well because it is where the Lord placed us. As a child instead of complaining about yard work, I learned to be thankful that the Lord allowed me to live in a home with a yard. Instead of me being upset that I had to wash dishes, I became grateful that I had food to eat.

This is what the scripture above is speaking when it reads, “Now we see only a dim likeness of things.” Just as I was when I was little, we as believers may only see the struggle and pain we go through on some days. We may even be upset and ready to move from some of the places we are in. But we do not see or know that God has us where we are for a reason. There is a miracle in the making for that location.

The text continues, “What I know now is not complete.” As believers we cannot trust in what we see, but in what we do not see. We must trust in God’s plan for our lives. By praying in thanksgiving for Him to give us the strength, courage and wisdom to see our trials through. When we trust the Lord in His plan for our lives, then we can speak the Word of God when it says, “But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.” It is because God knows us completely that we trust that His plan for us will eventually show us the victory in our journey.
 
May God bless and keep you in His will and protection in Jesus’ name.

Amen