Tis’ the Season to Love Louder
Lord, please fill my cup
with what I need.
Soften my heart to hear,
to live in love, and not greed.
Can you relate?
Recently, I had a week of feeling frustrated and drained about a few things in my life. In recognizing them, I knew it was either an opportunity to sit in frustrating emotions or to use those emotions as opportunities to lean into God more.
In asking God what to do, I heard Him tell me…
“Love Louder.”
Listen, sometimes, we need a little encouragement and I had that moment where I have to be honest… I was like, “Lord where is my encouragement though?” Kind of like, “Okay but what about me?”
You see I’m often the one that encourages others which I LOVE doing. However, we must be mindful that our gifts will be attacked by the enemy at times. We all have God-given gifts. Maybe it is that very encouragement or maybe it is the gift of inventing or teaching. Whatever it is, we must stay alert that the devil will try to silence it. Have you ever felt that? I know I certainly have, including that very week.
Why should I encourage others when I myself need some encouragement today? How can I continue when I am feel a bit deflated myself?
Whatever the questions say or however the doubts come in, like a lion or like a sheep, we must seek God about them.
Therefore, in my own seeking and encompassing emotions, I paused to listen to what the Lord was revealing about this. And sure enough, He was revealing. For one thing, He was answering me, I noticed that he was answering my prayers and cries for kind words. He was sending encouragement yet in my silent grumbling I didn’t recognize it at first. In fact, I wasn’t expecting it where and how it came. Much of it came directly from Him, teaching me more about surrendering to Him versus seeking of the world. Still, it can serve as a powerful reminder for us all to keep our eyes open. The answers may come ways differently than we expect and still that is an answer. We need to be available and open to it.
And those words came again on my heart again…
“Love Louder.”
But how God?
“Lean into me.”
When we feel like we are not being loved or that we are not being encouraged or even that we are being deprived of something, we may start to focus on us. Sure, we need to care for ourselves and take care of the emotions and needs. However, we must also turn and fix our focus on God because when we put our eyes on the Lord, He’ll give us messages like this…
“Love Louder.”
And He won’t just leave us hanging with the message. He will guide us step by step. Therefore, a day later, when I was still feeling down, drained and burdened, I continued to seek the Lord.
Lord, I heard You loud and clear. Love louder, but how to do this if I’m so drained?
Sometimes, when I’m praying for something, the Lord gives me gives the answer as an image and as I was seeking the Lord on these emotions, He did just that and more…
So I was over there feeling the feelings when He reminded me again…
“Love Louder.”
In my response, a smile surfaced and I almost laughed like, “Oh of course that’s what I want to be doing. But right now God how can I do it, when I feel like this?”
That’s when an image came. It was the image of a cup. I was handing the cup that I was holding to others repeatedly. After filling my cup with the Lord each morning and throughout the days too, I would pass the cup to everyone who needed it… leaving me with no cup to be filled.
Does life ever feel like that? Like we are handing over cup after cup to others to be an encouragement, to shine light and love with no time to continue to refill our own or even get a cup to fill for ourselves. The enemy would love to use these times to get us to dwell in emotions, growing bitterness but God will help us…
Loud Louder.
At first, I started to think about the image…
”Oh maybe I shouldn’t be handing my cup away.”
“Maybe I should be keeping the cup?”
“Maybe I’m giving too much away and I need to save some for me.”
And that is when the real lesson came. God reminded me of something so important. It is wisdom for all times especially those busy seasons where we need to pause to prioritize even more with the Lord. We need to remember the real reason for the season but also something we must remember in and through all times is this…
It doesn’t matter how many cups we pass or give away when we do it in and for love. Instead, when God is our Provider, He is our Provider. Therefore, He provides us all things, not just what’s filling our cups, but He provides what’s filling our vessels to the very cups themselves. ♡
Therefore, if God is calling us to be an encouragement for others, and it feels like we are drained instead of being filled or if feels like we have handed over a cup and there’s nothing left to fill…
It may be showing us we are trying to do this in our own strength. It is in His strength we need to rest. And it is certainly an indication of needing to draw near to God again… drawing closer to our Provider.
We need God.♡
It gives us even more opportunities to lean into God, knowing He will provide for what we need to do.
Trust me, I’m not saying He is calling us to be all things for all people nor am I saying He is asking us to do all things. Instead, we are called to be who He calls us to be. It leads us to that question again…
Is this a good thing or a God thing? (a wise question to pray and read about often.) We must abide, staying connected to our everlasting Source.
God isn’t only giving us one cup to last us through the day, the week or our lives. Instead, He provides everything we need. He not only fills our cup to meet our endless needs, He provides the cup itself. And it is from that cup that we can…
Loud Louder. ♡
Let’s pray…
Dear God,
You are everything. Today, I am in need of a new cup and I know You provide everything I need. I thank you. I trust You to provide me exactly what I need today to do and to be who You call me to be. I sit and rest with You as You guide me to LOVE LOUDER. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31, 33)
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