Take a Time Out
Walk away for a moment and breathe
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”
Have you ever found yourself suddenly and unexpectedly in an argument? I mean your day was going along smoothly. So, completely unaware of any crisis, you stepped boldly forward to spread joy and dance through your calendar.
And then seemingly out of the clear blue sky, a storm erupted. You got blind-sided by someone’s complaints or perhaps as you began to walk through a wide open door, it abruptly shut in your face!
You stumble back in confusion and try to assess, “What just happened?”
There… in that moment, you have a choice to make… I have a choice to make, and I have a second or two to be wise in all my ways.
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”
Have you ever heard the cup analogy- whatever’s in your cup will spill all over everyone when jostled or bumped or when you trip, etc? Here’s a quick little interpretation from Megan Fate Marshman
It’s true. I’m an avid coffee, water, tea drinker. Depending on the time of day and temperature, I’ve got a cup of some sort in my hand and I’m sipping. And I spill here and there. It’s not unusual for me to be on my hands and knees mopping up coffee splashes from our tile floors (love the easy clean tile by the way).
In like manner, my husband and I have an agreement that I must use a lid on my coffee cup when we are out and about. It’s for his protection, the saving of his wardrobe, because for some reason I tend to spill my coffee on him.
Now, imagine the cup is my heart, mind, soul and strength. When I’m spending time with the Lord in the early morning, in His word and in prayer, my cup is being filled by His presence, with His Living Water, with forgiveness and the fruits of the Spirit. Because His presence and His word brings living conviction leading to repentance and rejoicing in His love for me.
If my cup is full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and I know I’m loved and forgiven that unexpected shock of opposition might push me backward for a second and catch me temporarily off balance, but most likely what spills out of me will be compassion.
Yet, if I jump into my days with an empty cup, exhausted emotionally and expecting I might get filled up by an encounter with another empty human, I’ve just set myself up (and others) for a harsh crash landing in which everyone walks away emotionally bruised.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”
I witnessed a beautiful moment exemplifying this truth in action while visiting family. Sibling rivalry is normal. We know that. We’re al selfish and the youngest among us prove that we all come by this trait naturally.
However, our grandchildren are being discipled in love, relationship and scripture daily in such a way that they are learning to take their cup to Jesus to be filled rather than expecting people to give them what they want. It’s a work in progress, but I was delighted to sit back and witness God and good parenting at work.
In a moment of sibling confrontation, our granddaughter walked away. She walked to the stairs and sat down. Her parents gave her space and time to reflect and then her momma asked her what she was feeling.
“I am angry,” she responded. She explained why she was angry with her brother who didn’t want to share his toy in the moment. She said she needed some space.
She was given space and time, and in a few moments, she returned to the family gathering settled. She was received with love and her brother continued playing with her. They adore each other, but… you know. Relationships are challenging.
I learned some valuable lessons from watching and listening to our younger generation of disciples and disciple makers. Grateful am I for this reminder to mind my cup. Seek Jesus to fill me in His presence and love me with His word. I need space and time with Him - daily and moment by moment. In a moment of confrontation I might need to give myself a time out. May I be quick to run to Jesus and have an honest assessment of my feelings and next steps. May I offer compassion and forgiveness.
Pondering thoughts with Jesus:
Imagine the cup is your heart, mind, soul and strength.
What’s in your cup?
Is it empty?
Where and how do you try to get your cup
filled?
What do you want to do with this revelation?
Dear Jesus,
May I spill Your love and mercy when unexpected jostling, trips and confrontations happen in real, raw every day relationships.
I want You Jesus to fill me and secure me in my true Christ identity and I want compassion and forgiveness to be my native tongue.
Thank You for loving me first. I love You too, Jesus. Amen.
Dear Lisa, thanks for this nudge to be 'minding' our cup. To do what we need to do to keep it overflowing. And to give the Lord the space and freedom to do what He wants to do in our lives.
Bless you as you continue forward!
A great illustration, Lisa! We do need to "mind our cup."