Keep pouring out and let God pour in

 

Do you ever have the feeling that you are trying to pour from an empty cup? Do you ever feel like you are so busy pouring into other’s lives, and yet no one is taking the time to pour into yours?

You feel drained and dry. You are trying so hard to live up to the command to “bear another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and to “edify others” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and yet you struggle along with the empty feeling that no one is doing that for you.

There is a lot of emphasis and awareness in our world today on the subject of mental well-being. We have all sorts of programs and initiatives like “R U Okay?” and “Headspace”. We are encouraged to be checking up on each other regularly.  

And although these programs are often flawed, and lack Biblical counsel, they are well-meaning and do some good, but what I am concerned with is the lack of awareness and obedience to the Word of God in the lives of believers.

Let me take you to a verse in scripture that we all ought to pay more attention to.

Philippians 2:4 KJV - Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

We live in a very selfish world and I’m afraid it has begun to permeate our churches. We fellowship together on a Sunday and possibly meet together for prayer mid-week. We make casual conversation about the weather, our jobs or our health, and yet we live parallel lives in the same space. We are so engrossed in our own lives, our own problems and our own leisure times that we forget to lift our eyes up and out to check on those around us. We forget to reach out to others on the other days of the week.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul was full of advice for living in harmony with each other and he gave many practical tips to help and encourage them.

In verse 4 of chapter 2, we see another exhortation.

Paul is not saying to look out only for ourselves and neglect others, nor is he saying to focus solely on others, neglecting our own needs.  

We all have obligations and it’s quite a juggle to balance our personal lives and also pay attention to the needs of others.

How do we navigate this?

The Greek word Paul uses for ‘look’ in verse 4 is the word skopeo. It means to look at, to observe, to contemplate, to fix one’s eyes upon, to pay attention to, to scrutinize carefully. So, it’s not just a casual look.

Paul is not saying to neglect our responsibilities, but to balance them. We need to be good stewards of our time and at the same time be available to others in need.

He wanted to encourage the Philippian believers and us too, to mindfully observe the relationships in our lives and realise that there are times when others need us and there are times when we need others. He wanted us to be on the lookout for opportunities to be a blessing, an encouragement, a bearer of burdens and yet not neglect the responsibilities God has placed upon our own lives.

As I read about the churches in the Bible and the early church in Acts, I see some things that I fear we have sadly neglected in our modern-day churches. I know that we are not perfect and because of this, there will never be a perfect church, but I feel we could collectively do a lot better.

I am preaching to myself here too as I am often guilty of having an inward focus.

Acts 2:42, 44, 46 KJV - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. ... And all that believed were together, and had all things common; ... And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

I see here in this early church that the Christians not only studied God’s Word together and learnt and grew together spiritually, but that they prayed together, and they MET together. APART from church. APART from Sunday morning service (or whatever time it was).

In this passage it says, “breaking bread from house to house”.

Now, you can’t tell me that they met together, as a whole church, daily, in each other’s homes. No, that would be crazy and impossible. Why? Because of this verse.

Acts 2:41 KJV - Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle to fit 10 adults and 9 kids in my little dining/lounge room so there’s no way I could fit 3000!!!

So, the way I see it is that they were a hospitable people. They made time for fellowship and friendship outside of the church service times.

It’s sad that over the past few years, we have decided that we can exist on our own. We’ve replaced physically meeting with each other on a regular basis with online church and zoom calls and work from home, and self-serve checkouts and online shopping etc.

We’ve replaced long chats over a cup of tea with a few minutes of meaningless chit chat as we rush out the door after our Sunday morning services.

We struggle to have deep conversations with others because we haven’t taken the time to cultivate friendships, and we are at a loss as to what to talk about.

Cultivating relationships with one another takes more than consuming a Sunday morning sermon together once a week.

We need people and we need community. We need a network of regular people who are present in our daily lives. People who care and are concerned for our spiritual well-being. People who want to have deep conversations about the Word of God and what God is doing in their lives. People who are not content just to meet up once a week to listen to a sermon and sing a few songs.

We need invested friends. We need to surround ourselves with people who have the potential to make us better. People who will hold us accountable. People who are devoted to growing in their spiritual walk and are unashamed of the gospel.

And we need to be that person for others.

It’s difficult when we regularly check up on others, sending out texts, making phone calls, trying to organize a catch up and we don’t receive any of that in return. It’s hard to keep pouring and pouring and feel like you’ll run dry any minute.

But can I encourage you that it has eternal value. God sees your efforts. And he is pleased with them.

It took me way too many years to realise that I needed to be there for others and that I needed to be a friend to those in need. And I am blessed to be able to reach out to so many and keep persevering in the pursuit of fostering community in the place God has me.  

But, I’ll admit, there are days when I ask, “What about me?” There are days when I long for someone to check up on me. There are days when I feel like I only have a drop or two left to give.

But God in his goodness, has shown me that if I change my perspective and look at how he would have me respond, letting him pour into my life, letting him meet my emotional needs, realising that it’s about his kingdom and that what I do is for him, then he fills me up. He fills my cup to overflowing and I can pour from my cup once more.

If I stay close to him, letting him teach me through his Word, letting him speak into my life, my cup doesn’t run dry, and I can keep pouring into other’s lives.

There is a lot I could say on the topic of true Christian fellowship, and I have done so in previous posts, but I want you to know that God chooses to use people. He chooses to reach down and touch hearts and impress upon people to help others in specific ways and at specific times.

He guides them to know the words to speak. The actions to take. He could do it all by himself, but He knows that sometimes, we just need a physical, tangible, compassionate human being that we can see with our eyes and hear with our ears and touch with our hands.

You have to stop believing the lie of the Devil that tells you that you are better off alone. You have to turn a deaf ear to the lie that you will never find true connection and that you don’t need fellowship.

You have to step out of your comfort zone and be willing to find yourself in uncomfortable situations. Be willing to put in the hard work, be ready for disappointment, but be excited to see what the Lord can and will do with a humble heart devoted to him and his work.

So, if you see someone hurting or in need of encouragement, stop and write that text. Make that phone call. Give that hug. Bring them before the Lord in earnest prayer.  You never know what it could mean to someone and what it could do to raise their spirits. God could be choosing to use you to lift them up. God uses imperfect people to strengthen and encourage other imperfect people to become more like Him and to grow in spiritual maturity and bring glory to His name.

Don’t be content with surface relationships in your churches. Don’t be content with casual contact and rare times of fellowship.

Cultivate friendships with other believers. Look out for each other. Check up on others. Pray with others. Be the light that others are drawn to. Let the light that God shines upon your life radiate to all around you. Connect. Share. Love. Grow.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.