Some days I sit at the computer and I have so many things I want to write about, I can’t type fast enough. Other days I sit and stare at the computer screen waiting for inspiration to come, and it never does. This is generally a good indicator of my activity level for the week. Not how busy I have been, but what I have been busy doing.
On the weeks that I am regularly reading the Bible and other books, and I am spending quiet time in prayer, I cannot write fast enough to get all the thoughts out of my head. When I sit and watch TV or get busy working around the house, allowing every distraction to take me away from my priorities, I end up sitting in front of a blank screen on the computer for a long time before I finally decide to go look around the internet and finally give up on the idea of writing a post today. A quick look at my past posting schedule will reveal some long periods of no posts. Part of it is getting out of the habit of posting and part of it is being in a spiritual and emotional desert.
We all experience tough times when we feel we have nothing left to give. When I am feeling like that, my tendency is to withdraw. I don’t want to be around people. I don’t want to read. I don’t want to pray. I just want to do busy work and not even try to be very productive. I also tend to want to go shopping, thinking somehow spending more money on stuff I don’t actually need is going to help make things better. It doesn’t and in fact, it makes things worse. Now, not only am I in the same bad emotional state I was already in, but now I’m feeling guilty for spending too much money and I’m broke.
When I feel like I have nothing left to give, it is because I am empty. When you fill a glass with water and keep pouring, the water overflows onto the table and eventually the floor. If you keep pouring it becomes a big mess with water everywhere. When we spend time in prayer and studying the Bible, it begins to fill us up. When we keep reading and studying, our cup begins to overflow to everyone around us. When our lives begin to reflect the life of Christ instead of the world around us, we will not be empty. It is important to continue to fill our cup every day so we always have a little more to give. The joy of the Lord is my strength. That joy only comes from knowing God and having a full cup.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 23: 5-6
