Psalm 23b “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Since David write the 23rd Psalm and David talks about anointing lets look back to David’s anointing by the prophet Samuel. When the Lord took the kingdom from Saul the Lord led the prophet Samuel to Jesse’s family. Jesse had 8 sons. Seven of the sons passed before Samuel to be judged but Samuel found no favor in them. So Samuel asked Jesse “Are these all the sons you have?
1 Samuel 16:11-13 “So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep. ”Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.”
One of my favorite verses in the bible precedes this verse. The Lord spoke this to Samuel before he went to meet with Jesse and his sons.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
When everyone starts filing into work today what if you could just see the inward appearance? You would not see who is the nicest dressed or nicest looking. All you would see would be the same spirit of everyone BUT in that spirit you would see their heart. Their heart would either be filled with love and light or be filled with hatred and darkness. They would be filled with light and joy or you could see that their hearts are heavy. When you can only see the heart of a person you would see them in a much different light. You would not judge based on outward appearance any longer. Fortunately for us God only looks at our heart.
I believe that when David was speaking about this verse he was talking about his anointing. Can you imagine David’s response when all his older brothers were passed over and he was decided to be the one? As we see when David went out to fight with Goliath his brothers made jokes about him going back to tend the sheep. So David was definitely the black sheep of the family, at least at the beginning. When he was anointed by Samuel the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Just think how David felt standing in front of his brothers as they looked on in disbelief that David was the one picked to lead Israel and be King. If that doesn’t make your cup feel like overflowing I don’t know what does,
Everyday we try to do things in this world that try to make our cups overflow. We may scheme to get ahead of our friends, co workers or competitors at their expense. We may think that wealth and position will make our cup overflow. If you want the feeling that David received know this and put it to memory.
David’s cup overflowed because of NOTHING he did. His cup overflowed because of what God did through him. God chose David. There was not anything David could have done to earn this spot. Today you may be agonizing about winning a championship, getting a promotion, staying ahead of everyone else or trying to keep your head above water. David was responsible and did the best job he could raising the family sheep. He kept them safe and did a great job. Not because he wanted to be king but because that was his job. Today don’t do things to be lifted up as only God can do that for you. Do the best job you can because that is your talent God gave you. If you are saved then God chose you, you DID NOT choose God. That is the biggest anointing in the world we could ever get. Our cup should overflow everyday because of our salvation and because God chose us for Himself to be set apart.
Don’t ever let the falsehoods of trophies; money and status make your cup overflow. Because that is an empty cup which will never be filled. Let God lift you up and your cup will overflow. Then and only then will you be flooded with the joy of the Lord.
Do the best you can today but remember God looks at your heart.
Have an awesome day as this is all we have.
Brad
