“…my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:6)

The Good Shepherd is generous.  In fact, He gives more than our cup can hold!  It overflows.  God does not withhold anything good from us.  He provides us with what we need and then some.  It is unbelievable but true!  So, two questions to consider today.

#1  What can we do to receive these unmeasured blessings that God longs to shower on us?

#2  How does being so blessed effect our lifestyle and attitude to the world around us?

First, most of us would acknowledge that fact that God is a God who blesses us.  But, at the same time, we would also confess that we don’t always feel that our cups are overflowing.  So, what is the problem?  The Scripture is clear that experiencing the blessings of God begins by responding to His generous gift of life available in Christ.  We must abide (or live) in Him as Jesus talks about in the Gospel of John,

“I am the vine and you are the branches.  He who abides in me bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

To be in fellowship (connected) with Christ is to be in a place to receive God’s blessings. Abiding in Christ means that every aspect of our lives brings glory to Him as our Shepherd.  The Prophet Malachi said,

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10). 

Another temptation for us is to hold on to the abundance that God gives us. We become “blessing hoarders”. We gather the blessings that the Father lavishes upon us and we seal them up in an airtight container for a rainy day. We fill our storage spaces and keep it under lock and key! This is not the way to handle God’s goodness. We are blessed to be a blessing! God calls us to be “pipelines” of His blessings not containers! His grace flows to you in order to flow through you!

So, we start by bringing our lives and all that we have before the Lord. Then we share those blessings with those around us. His generous gift on the cross produces a generous response to Him which brings more blessings upon us which enables us to be generous with others.  This answers the second of our questions.  We should be generous people!  Solomon said,

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25)

We cannot out give God.  He expects us to freely give from the storehouses of His blessings.  We are blessed to be a blessing!  God does not pour His resources into a stagnant pond.  He pours those blessings into vessels that will be conduits of His mercy and grace.

The Good Shepherd has blessed you.  Your cup overflows.  Are you allowing those blessings to overflow onto those around you?  It is what we are called to do.