my cup overflows

Hello!!! It’s officially the end of my first week of training camp!! & WOAH. I’ve already seen the Lord move in so many ways, and it’s been the most remarkable thing to experience and witness!

If this is just week one, I can’t imagine what week 30 will look like. The Lord is going to multiply our joy, multiply our love, and multiply our unity. It will not be easy, but it will be 100 percent worth it!!

I’ve been living in a tent, going to the restroom in a porta potty, taking a shower with a bucket, and eating food with my hands (lol), yet there is just an abundance of love, joy, and grace. My circumstances from the outside are uncomfortable, but it’s in the painful things that we create a more profound dependence and intimacy with the Lord.

I’ve got this joy down deep in my soul, and this week has been marked with joy. I know that there will be seasons that will be difficult. Yet joy is not dependent on my circumstances but on Christ alone. There is no striving; He is enough; all we have to do is abide by the Father. Abide and rest in His character; out of that will flow “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

I am speechless at the goodness of God. The people on my squad are a true blessing from the Lord. They are all a beautiful reflection of the image and glory of God. They carry a different side of the character of God than I’ve ever seen before. And the unity that has been cultivated is something only the Lord could provide.

At the beginning of this week, I knew I would learn much about God and was expectant of what he would do. But goodness, the Lord completely blew my expectations out of the water. He has provided more than I could ever ask, think, or imagine. My heart feels like it cannot contain everything, and my cup is overflowing.

In 2 Chronicles, it talks about the building of the temple, and chapter 2, verse 5, says, “Our God is greater than all gods. But who can build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?”

The Lord is so great and so powerful nothing can contain Him. The universe He created is continuing to expand infinitely. Here in the Old Testament, we see a beautiful foreshadowing of the New Testament. It says in 1 Corinthians 6 that “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” The same Spirit that dwelt in the temple in the Old Testament dwells in those in Christ. Sit in that moment and realize the weight of that statement!!

The God who created the universe wants to dwell with you!

Because of the greatness of our God, we will never be able to contain all that He is, but rather, it will overflow from our hearts and souls forever!!!! Just like Jesus says in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

I can’t contain his glory. It is unstoppable, uncontainable, uncontrollable, like a mighty river flowing through my soul, bringing me life and spreading outwards to the people around me. At the end of verse 5 in 2 Chronicles, Solomon says the only reason he should build Him a temple is to worship!! Because worship is the only thing we can do in response to the greatness of God! When we grow in our knowledge of God, our love for God deepens, and out of that love, we worship!!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God has sent us the greatest gift ever. He freely gave it to us; we did nothing to deserve it. In Matthew 10:8, Jesus says, “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” 

When you freely receive the gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit begins to dwell within you, you can carry that salvation to the people around you. Before going out to the different nations, we have to make sure we are deeply connected to the source of the living water so the river continues to flow.

I pray this is an encouragement to you all!! And I love you guys all so much! And I can’t wait to update you on all the Lord is doing in my life!

Prayer: 

Father, Your name is holy. Your name is light. Your name is life. You are the author and sustainer of all things. Thank you. You are so sovereign and consistent—a steady heartbeat amidst the chaotic wind of the world. You are my regular heartbeat. You are my constant. I am overcome by the glory of your holy name and the weight that it carries. Lord, I pray that we would see rivers of living waters flow from us and that we would never contain you, but our cups would always overflow! In Jesus name, amen.

Maranatha