“You prepare at table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
~Psalm 23:5-6 (NIV)
I have been sitting with the theme of “overflow” for awhile. As my life seasons shifted recently, that was actually not the word I believed would accompany uprooting from something deeply involved in and walking away. I imagined I would be entering the desert: feeling stripped of everything, dry, and at a loss. Instead, I found buds creeping up out of dead foliage, life beginning to bloom where I didn’t expect it. I found what I didn’t realize was actually ice from winter, cracking to allow the water dammed up behind it to overflow out of the thawing.
I found life where I didn’t expect to.
I found hope where I believed there would be none.
I found myself called back to the table, prepared by my Lord, and His oil positioned to anoint me. I found a reminder that He doesn’t remove my calling, even when things suddenly detour down a road different from what I envisioned.
I remembered that His ways are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-11), that His plans are always for my good no matter what may come (Romans 8:28), and once again, that what He put in motion will be seen to completion (Philippians 1:6).
Around me, I found my tent being enlarged (Isaiah 54:2) even when I believed walking away from something would end so many things for me. Instead, what I walked away from was actually winter in disguise, and what lay ahead was full of blooms of promise.
I started to see that because of God’s goodness and mercy, my cup was actually overflowing. It’s not always easy to accept changes, especially when a thing or situation really looks like it makes sense. I believed I could truly make a difference and operate in my calling in that certain arena. Instead, God was inviting me to a different path. A nontraditional path. Yet still a path where I am operating in His plan for my good.
As each new shoot sprouts and unfurls, I praise Him for bringing me through and into a new place.
LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup; You make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
~Psalm 16:5-8 NIV
Spring grows in unlikely places. Don’t give up on that promise. Your cup will overflow again!
Blessings,
~Lynne
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