Gonna Need A Bigger Cup

No, this is not a story about the whole ‘glass half full’, or ‘glass half empty’ debate. In fact, the late George Carlin once observed, “Maybe the glass is just twice as big as it needs to be!“… he then proceeded on a tirade of how we overthink, over-analyze, and certainly over-debate about such nonsensical conditions in our lives.

Rather, there is this scripture that got my attention some time back and I wanted to help you see what I saw… no, we’re not headed to the playground! See-Saw… right!?!! Anyway… Settle in, settle your heart, and let the Lord minister to you, as He did with me.

See, it says in Psalms 23:5 KJV: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Now, there were three things that caught my attention here;

¤ God’s blessing on you

¤ Your cup will run over

¤ In Public, too

Is it me, or does God not see just how big ‘the cup’ actually is? Why does He keep on pouring? I mean, isn’t enough, enough? Now as a problem solver, I quickly figured I was either going to need a bigger cup, or there is just too much fluid being poured.

But, this whole image intrigues me… this whole picture of God demonstrating His blessing on us… making a ‘show’ of just how proud of us He is… making a ‘fuss’ as it were, over us and how He is being very, very sure even our enemies witness that this is happening! Now, where is that scripture that states we need to do all our spiritual stuff in secret, and be humble, and private, and quiet? I mean, the last thing I ‘ever’ want to do is anything in public where my enemies can watch, can scowl, can mock and jeer…. I really, REALLY dislike my enemies. That level of vulnerability is reserved ONLY for…. uh… oh… wait… God! Yea, I can be vulnerable in public for God!

But, there’s God…. not only making a fuss over you, but notice the very beginning of this scripture. It is actually the very point of it all… He is preparing a table for you RIGHT in the presence of your enemies. He is not secretly building a sanctuary of comfort where you can recover when your enemies strike out at you… a hedged yard wherein you can seek refuge from their taunts, for their jesting, their insensitive and twisted hatred.

No… God’s making up this table right where ALL can observe. THAT is important for us to see… so important for us to grasp… and just SO important for us to embrace with our whole heart (you’re going to need a bigger cup, huh)! Sure, you are timid… sure, you are a private person… sure, you are even ‘barely faithful’ enough to even be counted among His children. But, THAT is the actual beauty of this scene… this presentation the Lord is preparing. See, the Bible says, “Not by might shall He be glorified” (I may have paraphrased that, huh). God is strongest when we are weakest.

This passage actually begins with the ‘preparation’ part. It does NOT begin with the “since you were so faithful, loyal, and godly, I am going to throw a banquet in your honor”. God is preparing a table for you… wait for it… because He already KNOWS you are going to succeed…. to win… to be a glowing witness of His great mercy! See that?? Please tell me you see that?

I mean… since God ‘can’ see the future, and He is preparing a banquet… DUH! You must have WON! You must have overcome… bless your weary, worn-out heart… you must have survived the storm, the challenge, the ‘beat down’ you feel like you are getting right now. See?? God has faith in you… God trusts you will be trustworthy… He’s already “killed the fatted calf”, as it were…. He is already preparing a celebration!! All alone, THAT should bolster your hope… THAT should distinguish any question of His acceptance… THAT should certainly quell any doubt, uncertainty, and lack-o-faith that haunts your soul!

Now… let’s get back to the container… to that big problem we ‘are going to have’ with retaining all His blessing! All too often in our modern society (and probably since the dawn of time, right), we are SO careful not to spill… not to ‘waste’. Yet, here comes God claiming “I am going to bless you so much more than you can contain”!

Curious that He doesn’t give us ‘just enough’ to fill our cup. He’s prepared to ‘fill to overflowing’… like He begins pour His blessing on us, gets distracted dealing with something else (isn’t watching that our cup is too full, now), and just keeps pouring! I literally envision being waited on at breakfast, and the waiter/waitress just keeps pouring and pouring! In this ‘practical’ scenario, we jolt over the ‘spill’, and exclaim loudly!