What's in Your Cup?

When I was a teenager, I loved to write little quotes in my Bible.  Every blank page was filled with my youthful collection of meaningful nuggets, sermon notes or memorable poems.

In the many years since my youth, I have often wished I could read some of those poems and quotes that are fading from my memory.  Every once in a while, these little gems will surface and make for a perfect illustration.     

There is one of these quotes that I've been pondering a lot of late, I first jotted it down over forty-five years ago in my Bible.  This is the way that I remembered it:  “A cup full of sweet water no matter how violently shaken can only spill out--sweet water.”  Jesus said it another way, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

I can recall a little too quickly, a few times in my life when the water that spilled out of my cup was anything but sweet.  Still, I am ever thankful for the gentle working of the Holy Spirit in my life.  He gently reminds me to be thoughtful and kind in every life situation. 

On the turbulent days, when your cup gets bumped, let this scripture be what spills out, “Pleasant words are a honey comb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." (Proverbs 16:24) 

This week, there’s an excellent chance your cup is going to get bumped.  Will you purpose in your heart NOW to let kindness be the rule of the day?   

What's in your cup? 

(This is a revised version of the first devotional I wrote for my blog in October 2015.   It has been in my heart of late, and I thought someone may need to be reminded to be ready with kindness the next time your cup is jostled.  I know, for me, I can never hear this enough!)