Splash!

Ps 23 5b: "you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." ESV

 

Now what does this mean? Does this have to do with David being a king…his head anointed with oil? And cup? What is he talking about here?

 

I have to remember that David was a sheep, the Lord was his Shepherd. What does anointing have to do with that? Sheep were exposed to all kinds of junk out in the field. There were bugs. There were parasites. There were bruises. Oil was the medicine of the day. Oil would take care of suffocating the parasites that might be found on a sheep, especially their head. And sheep would butt heads as they played or as they tried to establish their territory. Oil would soften the blow.

 

We people sheep have the same problems. We have parasites that want to get into our lives. And every now and then we butt heads with each other. God gives us medicine. God gives us the very thing that we need for our comfort and healing…the oil of His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is our medicine. It is the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter. He snuffs out the parasites in our lives if we let the Shepherd anoint us with this oil. He softens the blow of life's bumps and bruises. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;" KJV John 14:16 Now I know that the word "Comforter" is also Counselor or Helper, but I love this idea that God has given me a part of Himself to bring healing and comfort. He wants that for me.

 

And my cup overflows. This is a life of abundance. This is a Shepherd who not only provides what we need (v1), He gives more than we deserve.

 

I think of a cup of coffee. Many times in the morning I will make my wife coffee. I pour it in her cup so that there is enough room for milk (she likes milk not cream) and sugar. How much do I put in? I put enough in so that it is manageable…so it does not go splashing out all over the place. That is not what God wants for me. He wants abundance. He wants me to be full and overflowing. He wants it splashing all over the place. And what does He want splashing out of my life? His goodness. His grace. His mercy. His love. His compassion. His righteousness. He wants it to be obvious. He wants it to pour out on others. He wants others to get wet with who He is through my life. He wants me to be filled: "be filled with the Spirit". When that happens the fruit of the Spirit gets juicy. It flows and splashes all over. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self control.

 

It all boils down to the Spirit of God in my life. He heals. He comforts. And He splashes. The question for me is: How wet am I?