The Overflow

“My cup runneth over,” the Psalmist David said in what we know as the 23rd Psalm. This short statement was in the context of enumerating all of the blessings that the Lord, our Shepherd, gives us as He leads His sheep through both pleasant and dark, shadowy  places.

Picture a container filled with water to the point of overflowing. You can’t stop the overflow unless you stop the source of the water. I enjoy watching a fountain which has an overflowing basin. The water keeps recycling, so the excess continues to flow constantly.

When we envision our hearts as a cup or a basin, we need to check on what they are full of to the point of overflowing. If we are filled with the Spirit of God, His love, joy, and peace should be spilling out from our lives like a fountain. Those characteristics not only bless us, but those around us. Sometimes we experience that for a while, and then the cares of life plug up the source and we become stagnant. I pray that the pipeline of our hearts will stay open to the Spirit, so that the flow in and the overflow out will be at full capacity.

But what if our hearts are full of sadness? Or anger? Or discontentment? There’s overflow from that, too. And it’s not a pretty picture. It poisons our being and spreads to others with tentacles of negativity. But God can change that. His Spirit can work in a believer to clean out the ugly sludge and fill the vacuum with crystal clear water. Thankfully, some friends and counselors are patient and faithful to help facilitate this process.

These days my heart is full of thankfulness. God’s blessings include a wonderful family, a beautiful home, a growing church in which to serve Him, lovely spreading trees in our yard, flower gardens (which my daughter carefully tends), delicious food, taste buds, sight, hearing, music, and on and on. Sometimes I even need to be thankful for painful things that are blessings in disguise. I hope the overflow from all of this gratitude spills over to those around me and waters the seeds in them that need nourishment.

What overflows from your heart today? You knew I was going to ask that, didn’t you? But we all need to do a little self evaluation at times. Is our connection to things of the Spirit uninhibited? Are our thoughts, words, and actions filled with what pleases God? Is the overflow from our hearts beautiful and beneficial to all?