I am not sure why, but one day when I was deep in the pages of my journal, the popular advertisement phrase came to mind — “What’s in your wallet?” I thought: “it should be ‘what’s in your cup?’ not ‘what’s in your wallet'”…
“What’s in your wallet?” focuses on what I can buy with the money in my wallet or with no money (credit card) in my wallet. It implies a choice of spending and enjoying what was purchased. “What’s in the cup?” is closer to where I live — it’s coffee!
My mind jumped from my cup to the Scripture where Jesus asks that this “cup” might be taken from Him (I know that is a big leap; I certainly understand, that in no way, can the significance of Jesus’ cup be compared to mine. But a little “journaling license” is needed here)…
So, what is in my cup that I wanted God to take away? And the top two winners are (drum roll): (1) cancer and all of its side effects from the drugs, and (2) the shingles complications with my eye and nerves on my face. Of course, there is the matter of financial uncertainty because of unemployment. Also, I can’t forget I was off work for 6½ months and now have a new boss with changed and additional responsibilities. It never fails! There are always changes in my cup!
It seems those heavy, “no, thank you” matters float to the top of the cup — kind of a “me first” approach to the day (who knew, heaviness floats!). However, there are other things in my cup, such as Scripture, family, and friends. They are the cream and sugar in my cup (for the sake of analogy, I will pretend I like my coffee “un-black”).
Anyway, God’s power and the comfort I receive from His Word is beyond anything I need in a day (fyi, sugar cubes tossed at the head, for unwillingness to swallow, hurt). God controls the “what’s” in my cup based on His reasoning (definitely not mine) and gives me the blessings of family and friends to sweeten my cup. They are the thick creaminess of love and comfort. Praise God for my loving family and friends!
Just as I drink hot coffee one sip at a time, God’s grace comes one sip at a time. He stirs the cup with His abundant sufficiency and loving grace. So no matter how full the cup gets, even if I feel I’m drowning, it will never overflow. God only gives me what I can drink — one sip at a time!
What’s in your cup today?
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).
