I wrote out my New Year’s resolutions and I’ve got them all neatly put into their little categories.
But that just wasn’t feeling like enough. I felt like what I wanted for this year couldn’t be put into little boxes I could check off. And I think that’s because faith can’t be put into a little box that you check off. So I thought I’d come up with a word that embodied what I wanted this year to look like and the person I wanted to become this year. Not a different person, but as Bob Goff would say, “the better version of myself.”
Overflow
That’s the word I kept coming back to. That’s what I want this year to look like. I want everything that I am doing to be out of the overflow of what God has already done for me. I want to live out of a place of knowing I am fully known, fully loved, and fully equipped by my Heavenly Father. I want to be so satisfied in Him that nothing else compares. And I know this satisfaction will glorify Him.
Psalm 23:5
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
My friend Emma once described it like God as a faucet. We’re the cup.
He never turns off. When we place ourselves under Him He pours Himself out for us. When we are constantly putting ourselves under Him, the overflow from that is what we have to pour into others.
The problem arises when we take ourselves away from Him… when we try to fill ourselves with things that don’t satisfy us. We try to fill our own cups but we were never made to do that. We work and work at these things we think will make us happy and satisfy us, but in the end we find they fall short and/ or are short-lived, and we’re left tired and frustrated! Then we are trying to quench the ones around us when we aren’t even satisfied ourselves and that leaves us even more weary and drained.
As Christians we’re supposed to bare the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I know a lot of the time in my own life I try to muster these up on my own when I feel like I am lacking, whether it’s by logic or whatever. This is not even biblical. God does not call me to produce these on my own. These attributes are FRUIT of the SPIRIT. These come from God. John Piper just said at Passion, “The heart doesn’t perform, it prefers. When you love Him and prefer Him, it will change your doings, not the opposite.”
John Piper also said “Joy in God is our first obligation. Joy overflowed in generosity is love”
This year I want to learn what it means to truly delight myself in God daily and live out of the overflow that that satisfaction brings. I want Him to be my first thought in the morning when I wake up and my whole day fixed around Him. I want to look for His blessings in all the little things throughout my day and praise Him for how He cares for me.
This sinful world y’all, it can feel like it does a lot of taking from us. Whether it’s people, health, time, whatever it may be…a lot of stuff is taken from us. And it does. And that’s truth. But I know my God gives. He gives me new mercies every single morning. He is rich in mercy and grace. He gave His son for us! He gives His Spirit. That’s truth as well. And that’s the truth I am believing and holding onto going in to this new year. He has so much to give us and so much He has already given us and equipped us with! I want to live with hands and arms wide open accepting it all and soaking up every bit of love He has for me…and I guess I’ll be standing like that forever, because thats another awesome thing about God: His love is forever.
Shirt: similar here & here & here
Jean jacket: similar here
Tights: here
Boots: here
intention, moderation, & peace! 🙂
The Lord will REIGN over my life this year! Meaning more of yes to Him and less to my own heart, more fearlessness when He leads me, and living a mission led life.
My word for the year (actually it’s more a phrase because it’s 2 words) is “Relentless Pursuit.” I am praying that God will continue to reveal his wonders to me in such a way that I am in an unwavering pursuit of what he has to show me
I absolutely love this! ❤ Thank you for sharing!
LOVE that!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts because they always inspire the rest of us! My goal this year is to put God First, do your best, and he will do the rest! And remember to glorify God because he’s the one working through us! Happy new Year!
My word for this year is “fearless.” I’ve spent so much of my life in fear of what’s coming, being anxious for assignments and school and all sorts of things to come. This is the year that I want my faith to overcome my fear. ❤
I have a feeling I will definitely be coming back to this post over the course of this year.
Exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you for sharing!
YOU are already practicing “overflowing” God’s love through this blog! I hope you know how inspirational and comforting your words are to other college students like me! Thank you for sharing! ??
I went from scrolling Instagram to reading such an inspiration piece, that has (in the 5 minutes of reading this) inspired me to see what God has for me. Thank you so very much for not keeping this to yourself, but for putting it out there so that others can be touched. ☺️
My word for this year is cultivate!!! I want God to till the soil in my heart so that I can bear only His fruit and heat His voice over all others. I want Him to till me
of pride, fear, comparison, so that I can fully live in His mercy and love for me!!! Proverbs 28:19 says that “He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but He who follows EMPTY PURSUITS will have poverty IN PLENTY!!! I want to have as much Jesus as possible. And I’m so glad that His faucet is always running!!!?
Great post to the beginning of 2018! Thanks for all your inspiration!
Cat
https://cottonandhydrangeas.wordpress.com
Overflow is my word too! I once heard someone say “I was surviving on grace, when I could be drowning in Grace.” He gives us more than we could think or imagine which allows us to give to others! Thanks for sharing!
Happy day! I was tagged in your IG post last night and I could not wait to read your blog. It’s such a blessing to see God confirm all the wonderful things He is doing with His church. I absolutely loved reading your post and praise His name as He works in mysterious ways to share His word. Many blessings on your upcoming year! Sending a little love from http://www.songofhappiness.com!
Your blog is so life-giving! Thank you for the encouragement!
God Bless!
Love this post! Such good thoughts.
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