God’s Overflowing Blessings
I’m a big drinker.
Not alcohol, but hot tea, iced tea, coffee, diet Pepsi, and when I’m being health conscious, water. A beverage of some sort always sets nearby.
My farmers are big drinkers, too, and I’m always searching for containers to take drinks to the field when the men are working 18 hour days. It seems the thermoses disappear, water jugs get lost or left in pickups at the other end of the field. I have to use whatever containers with lids I can find that will hold a beverage.
It can be a pain.
My mom always saved large cottage cheese containers and my boys loved to drink out of them when they visited their grandparents. These plastic cartons are the perfect size for a nice amount of ice and a can of pop. Grandma saved Cool Whip, cottage cheese, and sour cream cartons.
My family was “green” before environmentalists decided they needed to make us be.
Grandma Mary has made her orange and grape drinks for years and is famous for them with her grandchildren. The next generation of great-grandkids is hooked, too. Special drinkware comes out of cabinets to serve these special concoctions, which are made with love.
“What does this have to do with anything?” you may be asking.
Remember last week, when we talked about how to meditate? Well, this week I have been meditating about containers.
Our Sunday night small group is studying Recovering Redemption by Matt Chandler. It is thought provoking and lays a fabulous foundation for living the Christian life, helping us to increase our faith and understand the depths our Heavenly Father went to in order to offer us salvation.
The first day of homework this week was based on Romans 5. Sometimes I have trouble understanding what Paul is trying to say in this letter to the church at Rome (anyone else?) So, I looked up the passage in The Message version.
Sidebar: Read about my relationship with Paul in God and Designer Clothes, or God and Designer Clothes Part 2: How to Be a Friend, or God and Designer Clothes: Why I Love the Church.
Encouraging News
I am so glad I turned to The Message! I have been steeping and rejoicing over this paragraph all week….
..We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passtionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary-we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Romans 5: 3-5
Did you catch that? Our generous Father wants to bless us to overflowing. Even in the midst of troubles.
A few years ago, our basement flooded while we were on vacation. We came home to several inches of water and a ruined family room. One day in the midst of the remodel, Brad was working on some plumbing and things went terribly wrong. The spigot-y thing broke off and water was gushing like a firehose into the room. Yeeks!
Brad tried to figure out how to stop it (he finally had to shut it off out in the yard where the utility doodad is. It was a nightmare with several unbelievably horrible twists. There was nothing funny about it at the time, but Brad, who can spin a good story, can make us laugh when he tells it now. I think he is hilarious!)
While he was doing that, I was frantically gathering up all manner of buckets, pots, pitchers, trashcans, etc. to collect the water in. All the while trying to stay calm myself and keep Brad from blowing a gasket. (My husband seldom loses his temper, but he did that day-I didn’t blame him a bit!)
He finally got it stopped. Praise the Lord and EJ Water and our wet/dry vacuum.
Anyhoo.
Round Up Your Blessing Containers!
What a visual for these verses in Romans! God desires to pour more blessings out on us than we can round up containers to hold.
That got me thinking…..do I have my “containers” open and ready to receive? Or are the lids on tight and the containers shoved into the dark cabinet corners.
Do I just drag them out on Sunday morning, or am I ready for them to be filled every moment of every day?
Do I have a 2 hour one-day-a-week religion, or a 24/7, 365 relationship with my loving Father?
Friends, I’m convinced from scripture that my containers (and yours) will be filled as God and I develop our relationship. When I spend more time in study, prayer, and worship, I know HIM more and more.
And that is a good thing!
As my containers fill, I’m free to bless others with the overflow-not of my opinions or my “wisdom” but of Holy Spirit- grown fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Because of this, let’s open our hearts, unclench our metaphorical fists and willingly receive ALL THE BLESSINGS. Then we will open our mouths to share the amazing story of His love for each of us!
Shine brightly, friends, and splash HIM gently on everyone you meet.
What has God done in YOUR heart this week? Let us know in the comments!
Love this, Susan! I, too, save containers– reared by Depression era parents, what else would I do? Mine come in handy to share food with family and friends and no one has to return a container. And now, those containers will serve as a little Spiritual nudge! Btw, my daddy’s farming drink came from a stone jug with a corncob stopper.
Oh, thank you! I have my own share of containers, too, and they do come in so handy. And if you put leftovers in them and forget to eat them and they get gross, no guilt in pitching the entire thing! Oh, I would love to see a picture of your dad and his stone jar. I bet they really VALUED that jar! I appreciate your encouragement!
You have such an amazing way of sharing the word with everyone! It is hard to think of all the blessings and love God wants to give his broken people. I am humbled beyond belief when I think about it.
Jen-That is the nicest comment ever! Thank you. I have been totally amazed this week, too. He is so very generous to us! So we can be generous to others!
susan you have a way of making a person feeling encouraged and full of love for the Lord. This week I realized that just talking to a friend when you least expected is Gods blessing. God has blessed me in so many ways and I was going to write down one a day but there is so many you cant just write down one. God is truly great and I am so glad we are friends and have bible study together. You are a great teacher
Hello, Betty! Oh my goodness, I appreciate your encouragement so much. I’m so glad you are noticing God’s blessings and that you know that he is blessing you in enormous large and small ways. I want to encourage you to keep a gratitude journal like you mentioned-it is such a blessing to look back on all the blessings you wrote down and realize that there were many more you didn’t record. Can’t wait to start our next Bible study! We have picked one out and will be announcing it soon!
Wonderful words of encouragement Susan! You are a beautiful vessel (container) of God’s love.
You are so kind, Mindy!Hope everything is well in California!
You are a fantastic writer! I’m popping from post to post and enjoying my visit.
You are so sweet! Thank you for reading! You are welcome here any time. I love the name of your blog which I think I have visited before. I’ll go follow you and sign up for your newsletters so we can get acquainted. There are soooo many fantastic blogs out there that I forget to go back to my favorites as I find new one after new one! Have a blessed day, Stacey.