This next song was written by Richard Blanchard and released in 1964. A link to CRC performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.
Fill My Cup Lord
Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy:
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
Draw from my well that never shall run dry
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more–
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole
So, my brother, if the things this world gave you
Leave hungers that won’t pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more–
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole
What makes you happy? Maybe it is a relationship, an awesome vacation, a new car, a new house, a baby? When you do obtain what makes you happy, how long does the happiness last? As the happiness starts to wane, we typically start looking for the next fad for happiness. I believe the above is the cycle for most people. Basically we have difficulty settling in with what we have and who we are and we therefore spend a life in pursuit of happiness. This becomes an ongoing activity throughout our lives.
We are very much like the woman at the well described in John 4:4-42. I am only extracting verses 13-15 for purposes of this entry, but encourage you to look at the entire passage: Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Everyday this woman comes to the well to get fresh water because she is thirsty and needs this water to meet her everyday needs. Jesus was obviously speaking from a spiritual perspective and she was initially thinking from a physical perspective.
As the life of the woman unfolded, I believe she is somewhat like all of us in that she could never find true permanent happiness. Jesus is the only one who can give that happiness and it is a joy that is in the soul. The soul is eternal, therefore isn’t it better to focus on eternal joy as opposed to temporary joy? Jesus is the only one who can bring this type of joy, the joy that only comes with a cup that is always overflowing with his love and promise of eternity. Yes, it is great to have that new home, that new car, a wonderful vacation and I hope you have them all; but these things only help us to live for the moment. As we lift up our cup and give our lives to Christ, we experience joy and peace as we have never known and our cup will always be running over.
We will go through life wanting excitement, new things, and fun and this is ok; but is it enough? The world will bring us a lot of good things and a lot of bad and we will sort of be living on a rollercoaster as we look for that one thing that brings us joy. The only way to get the real peace and joy is to give ourselves completely to Christ. We each need to fall on our knees and ask him to come into our hearts and dictate our lives instead of us being in the driver’s seat. Once we do this, we can have that permanent peace inside of us. It is true that we will still enjoy things in our lives, but we will also realize that the only permanent joy comes from Christ and dwells within us at all times. The good news is we can also start getting the joy of sharing this love with others, just as Jesus did with the woman at the well. We can become a blessing to others while living the life Christ expects of us while enjoying the things he puts before us each day.
How will your cup be filled and who or what will be the one filling it?