My cup runneth over – Psalm 23:5

If I am full of the Holy Spirit, how can I not pour into others?  

Over the years, I’ve seen so many people “dial it in,” during their last few years teaching.  It’s like this attitude that says, “I don’t really care if I get reprimanded or fired, I’m out of here anyway.”  In addition, they don’t give the best of themselves anymore to what they were generally great at for their entire career.  They don’t mind “burning days” and staying out because they have them to burn.  This ends up causing other teachers to cover their classes and places a substitute in the room that has not the understanding that the teacher does.

I never understood this temptation to “dial it in,” . . . until now.  I’m the one who could treat my job like I’ve described in the above paragraph.  I’m not going to act like I’m not tempted.  But when I get up in the morning and spend time with God, I realize that I’m in my last days of even having a chance to honor God in what it is He gave me the ability to perform?  How could I possibly take these last opportunities and pour into these kids more than ever?  Why in the world would I want to stand before my Lord and answer for why I gave Him less than my best at the very end?  Whatever it is that I do, I am to do it with all my heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)

I watched the movie “The Forge” recently.  The part that stuck with me more than anything was when Isaiah’s mentor told him, “Be a fountain, not a drain.”   Fountains pour into others and help others be the best that they can be.  Drains only take from others and make the lives of others more difficult.  I hate looking back and think of years where I was a drain to my wife, a drain to my profession, and even a drain to the God that I said I loved and served.  But by His grace, I sit here this morning loving Him more than ever.  At the beginning of this year when I asked Him to undo my spiritual paralysis, I don’t think that I thought that He would.  I knew He could, I just didn’t know if He would.  As with everything He has ever done in my life, I don’t know how He did it, I don’t even know when He did it, but In true God fashion . . . He did it.

If you’ll just take a look at where you are now, and where you’ve been.

Hasn’t He always come through?  He’s the same God as then.

You may not know how, you may not know when . . . but He’ll do it again.

(Look up the Karen Wheaton song, “He’ll do it again.”  You won’t be disappointed.)

Lord, as always, there is and never will be another like You.  Nobody else turns drains into fountains.  Help me do my job each day like it is the last chance I’m ever going to get to do it.  I know people dream of pulling a David Allan Coe and telling their boss to “take this job and shove it,” but I would hate to stand before you having treated another like that.  I want to use my job to make others better.  I know I’d never do it on my own, so God, please keep pouring in Your Holy Spirit that I might be Your fountain.  I love You so much!  Thank You for everything . . . and I mean everything.  Amen.