Psalms 23:5 – “My cup runs over.”
The God we serve is the God who is more than enough. I love the words of Jesus in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The words “more abundantly” literally mean to the full, till it overflows.” The Complete Jewish Bible reads, “I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.”
God doesn’t just meet our need, but desires to over meet our needs. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” The latter part of verse 5, “my cups over,” is a picture of overflow and abundance. The Great Shepherd receives us with extravagance. Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.”
We are the recipients of the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Why does God want our cups to run over?
He wants us to have an overflow, so we can be a blessing to others. He blesses us to be a blessing. Psalms 5:12 says, “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”
The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth in II Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” The Great Shepherd will fill our cups to overflowing. We can declare the words of the Psalmist with great confidence, “My cup runs over.”
Tony Cooke writes, “When a lost sheep is recovered, the Shepherd does not stoically receive it back into the fold, but ‘he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray’ (Matthew 18:13).”[i]
[i] Cooke, Tony, Because the Lord is My Shepherd, Harrison House, Shippensburg, PA, page 78.
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