Fill My Cup, Lord by Donna K. Maltese by Barbour Books

Fill My Cup, Lord

DONNA K. MALTESE

Fill My Cup, Lord

Devotions and Prayers for a Blessed Life

Print ISBN 979-8-89151-164-4

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Introduction

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you.

2 Corinthians 9:8–10 msg

Every day God gifts us with His wonders, blessings, peace, and promises. Yet too often we spend our time focused on the ugliness of the world, seeming “curses,” criticisms of others, and broken promises. But that is not how God wants His people to live.

The devotions that follow can help you fix your mind on things worthy of your thoughts. Instead of shuffling “along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you,” you will be inspired to “look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective” (Colossians 3:2 msg). May you be blessed as you do so.

The Genesis of Blessings

God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28 esv

God has been blessing His creation from the very beginning of time. His first blessing was to the sea creatures that swarmed the waters and the birds that flew above the earth. He instructed them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill their domains (Genesis 1:22).

On the sixth day, God made earthly beasts—livestock and wild animals. Then He said, “Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26 ampc).

So God made man and woman in His image. Afterward, when He blessed the newly created Adam and Eve, He told them not just to be fruitful and multiply but to subdue the earth, to rule over it and its creatures!

Along with that blessing, God told the humans that every plant and tree He created were to be food for them and all the other creatures He’d formed. In other words, God’s initial blessing to Adam and Eve came with provisions (food) for them, ones that would help them be fruitful and multiply!

The point is, if God blesses you, He will also provide for you,

giving you everything you need to experience that blessing. And once blessed, you are always blessed.

Yet if humans are to continue to be blessed by God, we also need to adhere to His instructions. For example, trees, plants, and animals have been put under our care. If we are lax in our responsibility, if we neglect our caretaking obligations, we will have difficulty being fruitful and multiplying. And God’s initial provisions will dry up.

God has lovingly blessed us. But experiencing that blessing is contingent on abiding by His instructions for what we are to do—what we need to do—to realize that blessing.

Taking God’s start-up blessing for granted would spell disaster. So, woman, prayerfully consider what God may be calling you to, what part He may have you play in taking care of Earth’s environs and inhabitants, whether they be animal, human, vegetable, or mineral. Then walk where He leads, doing your part to follow His commands and praising Him for His blessing upon you.

Lord, thank You for Your blessing and Your provision. Help me understand that along with Your blessings come responsibilities. Show me what You would have me do and where You would have me go to fulfill them. Amen.

The Blessing of Rest

On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Genesis 2:2–3 esv

Just as a parent aims to set an example for her children, Father God set an example for His own kids. After God spent six days creating all that we can still see, touch, taste, hear, and feel on, in, under, and above our terrestrial sphere, He rested on the seventh day.

Because God rested on that day, He blessed it. Made it holy. Knowing the importance of the seventh-day rest, God commanded us to follow His example, saying, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:8–10 esv).

Not only were God’s people to rest on the Sabbath, but so were their kids, servants, livestock, and foreign visitors. Then He gives them the reason: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11 esv).

This commandment (along with the other nine) was reiterated forty years later by Moses in Deuteronomy 5:12–14 with one slight variation—the reason why the people were to rest on the Sabbath: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the

land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15 esv).

Today some Christian denominations maintain that it’s necessary to observe the Sabbath to be saved. Others say that since we are no longer living under the law as the Jews did, the Sabbath need not be observed—even though both Christ and the apostles kept the Sabbath. There are even questions about which day is technically considered the Sabbath day. So what’s a good Christian woman to do? Find some time— whether it be every day or one entire day a week or both—to be with God. To focus on Him. To praise and worship Him. And, most of all, to rest in Him. When you do so, you’ll not only be pleasing God but also be getting the rest you need to serve Him. What a blessing!

Lord, thank You for giving me an excuse to rest from my labors and set aside a special time and day just for You. Help me find a way to keep a time of Sabbath so that I can restore and refresh myself in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Blessed in So Many Words

What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?

Psalm 56:3–4 ampc

The book of Psalms is filled with wonderful imagery and the recorded thoughts of God’s people. It helps us to see that thousands of years ago, believers had the same burdens and blessings we have today. The psalmists give us words we can use to pray back to God. They help us to understand we aren’t the first to doubt, fear, cry, laugh, celebrate, praise, ponder, and shake our heads in bewilderment. In the chapters of Psalms, we also find words that can become the building blocks of our faith. Psalm 56 was written by David. It’s a record of his thoughts when the Philistines had seized him in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10–15). In his escape from King Saul, David ran to King Achish of Gath, a Philistine city. But when Achish’s servants reminded him of how many Philistines David had killed (tens of thousands), David became frightened. So he pretended to be insane, drooling and scribbling nonsense on doors. So Achish allowed David to leave Gath and seek refuge elsewhere. Although we may not be insane, we can still examine, learn from, and use this psalm in a general way, for its words do not link it to the specific event David experienced. And even though the word blessing is not used once in Psalm 56, it can be found behind the recorded words.

The psalmist makes it clear he’s tired of being trampled by attackers and enemies. Yet when he is assaulted, when he is afraid, he puts his trust in God. He asks, “What can flesh do to me?” (verse 4 esv).

All day long people are against the psalmist. Stalking him. Ready to take his life. But he knows that God is keeping track of all the sleepless nights he’s had. That God counts each of his tears and puts them in a bottle, records them in His book. The psalmist knows, as do each of us, that “God is on my side” (verse 9 msg).

When we realize God is with us, when we put all our trust in Him, we too can say, “God, you did everything you promised, and I’m thanking you with all my heart. You pulled me from the brink of death. . . . Now I stroll at leisure with God in the sunlit fields of life” (verses 12–13 msg). What a blessing—to know God is with us, we can trust Him, and He is true to His promises!

I want to have the same mindset as David in this psalm, Lord. Help me get there from here. Remind me every moment that You are with me, for me, and watching over me. Amen.

The Lord’s Reward

Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me. . . . May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”

Ruth 2:11–12 nasb

Have you ever experienced a time—whether it be a moment, hour, day, week, or year—when everything you touched, said, attempted, or did had good if not remarkable results? Ever wondered why that day or project or task turned out so well? Perhaps it was because God was rewarding you for your attitude, kindness, commitment, faith, or stubborn perseverance. That’s what He did for Ruth—one of only two women (the other being Esther) who had a book of the Bible named after her.

Ruth’s story begins with Naomi’s. Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, along with their two sons, left Bethlehem during a famine. They landed in Moab. There their sons—Mahlon and Chilion—each married a Moabitess, one named Ruth and the other Orpah. And there all three men eventually died, leaving first Naomi and then her two daughters-in-law as widows. When Naomi found out that the famine in Judah had ended, she decided to say goodbye to her daughters-in-law and walk back to Bethlehem. But Ruth insisted on going with her, saying, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge,

I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16 nasb).

Then, once in Bethlehem, Ruth followed Naomi’s advice to “go to the field and glean among the ears of grain” (Ruth 2:2 nasb) in the field of Boaz, a rich relative of Elimelech. When Boaz was told Ruth was in his fields, gleaning grain, he spoke with her, telling her he’d heard about all she’d done for her mother-in-law, Naomi. How she left her own home and family to come to a strange land and live among strangers. Then he blessed her, saying, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord. . .under whose wings you have come to seek refuge” (2:12 nasb).

Woman of God, your Lord sees what you’re doing. He knows what help you have given others. He knows how you have sought refuge under His wings. And He wants you to know that for all you selflessly do, He will reward you—if not here on earth, then in heaven above.

Lord, I thank You for being such a generous God. Help me keep Your generosity in mind when I see someone who needs my support, my strength, my home, and my heart. Help me do what You would have me do. Amen.

God of Second Chances

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

Genesis 9:1 nasb

God had created Adam and Eve. All was good until they ate the forbidden fruit and were banned from the Garden of Eden. Then they had two sons, Cain and Abel. And that was great, until Cain killed Abel. After God banished a forever-marked Cain, Eve had another son, Seth. It’s a wonder God didn’t give up on this creation idea. But He stuck with it as the humans continued to procreate, just as He’d commanded (be fruitful and multiply).

Then one day God looked down on His creation and saw how corrupt humankind had become. Things had degenerated so quickly and so thoroughly that God “was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6 nasb). He was ready to obliterate the entirety of His creation! But then a “but” arrives on the scene in the form of Noah: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8 nasb, emphasis added).

God saw a ray of hope in Noah—the only righteous person left on earth. And to Noah God gave the command to build an ark. And “by faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7 nasb).

God’s plan worked. Noah and his wife, along with his three sons and their wives, as well as the animals on the ark, escaped the floodwaters. All the bad stuff was washed away. It was a fresh start for humankind.

God then blessed Noah and his sons, telling them to repopulate the earth. God even made a new covenant with Noah, vowing never again to wipe out humankind with a flood. The Lord even gave Noah a sign as a reminder of His promise—the rainbow.

After receiving God’s blessing and promise, Noah planted a vineyard, got drunk, and wound up naked in his tent, sleeping off the effects of his drinking binge. Two out of three sons respectfully covered up their father’s nakedness.

The account of Noah’s adventures reminds us of God’s absolute power to destroy and to rebuild. It shows He loves us so much He’s willing to continually forgive us, redeem us, help us find a new way of living, doing, and being. The story also reveals that even the most righteous of men and women can sometimes disappoint themselves, God, and others. But if we stumble—and we will—we can be sure our loving God, through His mercy and grace, will give us a second chance.

God of mercy and grace, thank You for looking after me. For being a God of second chances. Amen.

Stepping Out Steeped in Faith

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1–3 esv

God has designed things so that believers will not just be blessed by Him but become a blessing themselves! He has also arranged things so that those who bless believers will be blessed by Him!

It all began with Abraham. But before he could be blessed, be a blessing, and be an avenue through which others would be blessed, Abraham needed to have enough faith in God to say yes to His call, to do what God wanted him to do, and to go to a place he had never seen and dwell there, living like a stranger.

Yet that’s just what Abraham did. For he knew early on that “without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]” (Hebrews 11:6 ampc). And Abraham believed: “He put his trust in God. This made Abraham right with God” (Galatians 3:6 nlv).

God wants you to trust Him totally too. To walk where He tells you to walk. And to do it one step at a time—without knowing what’s in front of you. That truly is blind faith.

Yet Abraham wasn’t without troubles, obstacles he had to overcome on his trek with God. He had to trust that God had only good in mind for him. He needed to look beyond what he could see to what God Himself sees.

Today, tune in to the Lord. Ask Him what He sees for you. Apply to Him for the faith you may need to walk the pathway He is drawing you to, knowing faith is what you will need to complete the journey. Get up close to the Lord, knowing He will reward you if you trust Him and keep on seeking Him. Then you too will be blessed in being right with God!

Lord, give me the faith I need to walk the way You would have me walk, to go where You would have me go, to do what You would have me do. Keep holding my hand the whole way as You bless me and make me a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The God Who Sees

The angel of the Lord found her. . . . And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”

Genesis 16:7–9 esv

It’s one thing to be told God is going to bless you. It’s another thing entirely to believe that blessing will ultimately come to fruition. Yet that’s exactly what God wants you to do. For it’s your belief that will bring the blessing into being.

Consider Sarah. God had told her husband, Abraham, that He was going to bless him with countless descendants (Genesis 15:5). Abraham believed the Lord, and “that made him right with God” (Genesis 15:6 nlv). But as the years went by, Sarah remained barren. Impatient, she decided to take matters into her own hands so that she and Abraham could realize God’s promised blessing.

Disbelieving God is where God’s children trip up. That’s when unforeseen and unwanted consequences come into play.

Because Sarah grew impatient, she gave her maid Hagar to her husband, Abraham. If Hagar got pregnant, she would be giving birth to a child on Sarah’s behalf. But that wasn’t what God had in mind. He wanted to see Sarah trusting Him enough to leave things in His hands.

Women like to fix situations. They want to make things right. Although their intentions might be good, the consequences can be disastrous.

Sarah did give her maid to Abraham. Hagar did get pregnant. But when she began to show, she lorded her condition over Sarah, perhaps even taunting her barrenness. Relations kept deteriorating until, with Abraham’s do-whatever-you-want-todo-with-your-servant consent, Sarah started treating Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away.

But God saw. God always sees. The angel of the Lord “found” Hagar near a spring in the wilderness on the road to Shur. The angel told Hagar that running away from her mistress was no solution. Instead she was to go back. To submit to Sarah. In return, God would bless her with so many offspring that she herself would not be able to count them all. “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me’ ” (Genesis 16:13 esv).

Whatever blessing you’re waiting for is already in God’s hands. But it won’t be delivered until everything is ready. Yet it’s all in God’s timing—not yours. For He alone knows the future. God has promised you a blessing. But it’s His role to deliver it, to bring it to fruition. The only part you have to play is to continue to obey God, to trust in His timing, and to believe He will bring it to pass.

Help me, Lord, to be patient and obedient and to continue to trust in You as I await Your blessings. Amen.

Nothing Too Hard for God

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

Genesis 18:14 esv

Depending on each woman’s life experience, she might consider some blessings promised by God to be impossible of fulfillment. Sarah did.

One day, three men stopped in to see Abraham when he was sitting at the door of his tent on a very hot day. One of them happened to be the Lord. Abraham and Sarah rushed to feed the trio. While Abraham stood by them as they ate, they asked where Sarah was.

Abraham told them she was in the tent. That’s when the Lord told the elderly Abraham that at the same time next year, Sarah would have a son.

Sarah, eavesdropping from just inside the tent entrance, began laughing. After all, she was way past childbearing age. So she said to herself, “Yeah. Right. As if an old woman like me has a chance of getting pregnant by an old man at this stage of our lives.”

God, overhearing Sarah’s laughter and remark, asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:13–14 nlv).

Amazingly enough, on top of her doubting God’s promise, Sarah responded to God with an actual lie! “Sarah said, ‘I did not laugh,’ because she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you

did laugh’ ” (Genesis 18:15 nlv).

It makes one stop and think about how gentle, patient, and long-suffering our Lord is. How He is constantly coming through on doing the impossible in our lives—in spite of our lack of faith in His provision and promises. God continues to come after us and bless us day after day—regardless of what doubts we may be harboring in our heart of hearts, what snickers we may be hiding behind our hands, what lessons we continue to miss, and what faults we exhibit time and time again.

Today, consider which promise of God you would like to see fulfilled in your life, no matter how seemingly impossible you may believe it to be. Pray to God, asking His take on the situation. Then leave all things in His hands, knowing that in His own time and way, He will turn what seems impossible into a reality before your very eyes!

You, Lord, are always doing the impossible. Yet You have promised us certain blessings. So I come before You today, Lord, asking You to give me the faith and trust I need to believe in Your promises. Then help me leave all these things in Your hands, knowing You will always find a way to make what I think impossible, possible! Amen.

Leaving the Past Behind

“Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley.” . . . But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:17, 26 nasb

God has such compassion, providing us with myriads of opportunities to make the right choice, follow His guidance, put our trust in Him. But we are a stubborn people who sometimes get so stuck in the past, glorifying what once was, that we miss the opportunities of new beginnings, often to our detriment. Ever since the Fall, we’ve had it in our heads that we know what’s best. We believe we are smarter or have more insight than the one who created us! We “the created” assume we have a better handle on what to do in this world than the one who created us! The situation is almost comical. Yet it can also be quite deadly. Case in point: Lot’s wife. When God sent angels into her hometown of Sodom, the plan was for them to get Lot’s family out before the fire and brimstone hit. The angels arrived the night before the city’s day of reckoning. They told Lot exactly what was going to happen, saying, “If you have any more family members, you’re going to want to warn them, to get them out of here before we destroy this sin-filled city at God’s direction.”

So Lot went out and told his sons-in-law. But they thought he was joking. At dawn, the angels pushed Lot, his two daughters, and his wife out the door. Yet even Lot was dragging his feet. Obviously, things weren’t going according to what he’d planned for himself and his family. But the angels insisted they

flee, saying, “Now run for your life! Don’t look back! Don’t stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you’ll be swept away” (Genesis 19:17 msg).

In the end, Lot and his daughters made it out. But Lot’s wife got stuck where she stood, looking back at what she’d had and what would soon be lost. What Mrs. Lot didn’t understand is that the past is just that: past. There is no going back—especially if God wants you to move forward.

If God takes you away from the home you once knew, the job you once loved, or the status you once enjoyed, trust that He has a better plan for you. That better days lie ahead. And don’t worry. God’s got this. God’s got you.

Lord, help me believe that what You say is true. Help me trust that You know what’s best for me. Help me not to look back at what once was but to move forward with You in a new tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, amen.