Overflowing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs8WTFxEcEw&list=RDcs8WTFxEcEw&start_radio=1&rv=cs8WTFxEcEw&t=0

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us ~ Nicole Nordeman

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over. ~ Psalm 23:5 AMPC

As an adult, have you ever asked a small child to guess your height? The younger the child, the grander the answers, as they likely have no idea. If a small child, who can see you, can’t figure out how tall you are, how are we to grasp the amount of God’s love, whom we have never seen?

Ephesians 3:17-19 lay out a prayer that the Church would have the power to grasp the size of the love of Christ, and would be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” How can you even fathom the fullness of God, let alone be filled to its measure? First of all, the measure of the fullness of God is not like a level cup; it’s full to overflowing. If you dumped the water from an olympic-sized swimming pool into a thimble-sized container, you’d start to form an idea of “full to overflowing,” but it would still be a far cry from how much God wants to pour into us. And yet, a child of God, who’s been anointed with oil--representative of Holy Spirit--is being filled to full and overflowing with God’s love.

The secret isn’t in the container, or the action of holding what God pours into our containers. The secret is receiving with the expectation that whatever God pours into your life will overflow onto the lives of those around you. The jars of clay into which God breathed His life were not created with the ability, let alone capacity, to contain all that God longs to pour into our lives, (2 Corinthians 4:7). Why? Because His ultimate goal is not to make your life bigger, better, higher, grander, or more comfortable than everyone else’s. Rather, His charge, to us who follow Him, is that we would be a conduit, river,  and cup overflowing, letting His love flow to, captivate, and change the hearts and lives of others.

If you have been feeling dry, it’s time to open and humble your heart, and come back to the presence of Father God, who longs to pour His love on you. And if you are being filled, but still feel empty, it’s time to find, and surround yourself with, others to whom you can be a conduit, river, and cup overflowing. It’s only when we’re abiding in His presence as an open vessel--not trying to grab it all for ourselves--that we can truly live full to overflowing.

©Heather Potts 2021

#sitdownandwatchthebuffalo

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

~ Psalm 23:5 NKJV

Have you ever been in a season or circumstance where stress or anxiety caused you to say some crazy things? I know we have, and somehow, Brad always hears them and then says, “We should put that on a t-shirt.” The most recent of which I said on Tuesday night and decided it would make the most hilarious t-shirt or hashtag, #sitdownandwatchthebuffalo. Obviously, if you were in the room, it would still sound funny, but I think it’s funnier without the back story.

The back story…

Have you noticed that when reading the Bible, we so easily disregard the back story and then miss out on some of the meat of what God’s trying to teach us?  Growing up, my mom always had Psalm 23 hanging on a wall outside my bedroom door. I’ve read the words so many times; they are a sweet melody to me. But it wasn’t until the past few years that I was hungry to know more—WHY did God say that, WHAT did He mean when He said it, etc. It wasn’t until I really started digging in and uncovering the back story that I realized the beauty and depth of the scripture—any scripture. But like my hashtag, if we don’t sit down and breathe in the sweet aroma of the back story, the deeper meaning, and the deeper layer of truth, then we run the risk of missing the deeper beauty that God was trying to communicate.

Today, I have two challenges for you. 1) Ask God to take your favorite scripture and unpackage it for you. Ask Holy Spirit to open up your understanding. Ask for the back story. 2) Send me your funny out-of-context statement. What would be your hashtag?

©Heather Potts 2017

Prepared pt. 2

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; ~ Psalm 23:5 NKJV

Sitting in an empty parking lot, we reviewed our options: Brad was unable to work, had failed to elect short-term disability, and chose to reject car payment insurance. Due to our two small children and a disabled husband, I was unable to work. We had no local family support and no savings or emergency fund. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of our painful and long story. The enemy planned and primed the situation, bringing about every ounce of pain, fear, and strain.

But God was prepared.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me… ~ Psalm 23:4 NKJV

IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES

Though the devil meant to harm and destroy us, God used it for good, (see Genesis 50:20). That season was devastatingly painful, but God walked with us the whole time. At the very moment when the enemy thought he had won, God brought healing and restoration. But God didn’t stop there! In the presence of the enemy—who was already burning with anger after his loss—God brought about and wrote down a story of healing and beauty and victory.

In the presence of my enemy, God has prepared a table before me.

Whatever you are walking through—even if it’s bad, even if it’s worse—know that God is walking with you. And He’ll bring you through, so that you can sit down at the table that He has prepared for you.

©Heather Potts 2017

Prepared pt. 1

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; ~ Psalm 23:5 NKJV

When something is prepared, it’s “put in proper condition or readiness,” it’s arranged or “put in order,” (dictionary.com; blueletterbibible.org).  My husband has decided to step out in faith and start his own business. Since he’s the only one working, the lack of constant, precise income can be terrifying. But God prepared us. Without funds to hire help, that makes me his “assistant/secretary/bookkeeper.” But God prepared us. As they say, “In order to make money, you have to spend money.” But God prepared us.

YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME

From 2007-2014, I worked in the advertising department of a local newspaper. Beginning in 2010, my role also included meticulous calculations of sales rep reports, commissions, and reconciliation, as well as department budgeting, and manager expense reporting. My training was all hands-on: “dig in and figure it out.”

In 2015, God allowed us to lean on Him, by removing the “safety net” of Brad’s stable job and income through back injury and job termination. After recovering, Brad worked wherever he could, including temp and consulting work, but nothing produced the same income and budgeting stability.

Last month, we recognized it was time to start Brad’s business. Our tax return covered not only the cost of the business start-up, but also living expenses for a few months until the business produced an income.

God is preparing the table—the means, the needs, the blessings, the supply—and He’s doing it for all of us, His beloved children. No matter what you’re going through today, ask God to show you how He’s prepared you to be successful in this season and what you can learn so you’ll be successful in the next.

©Heather Potts 2017