“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.”
Psalm 16:8

This psalm verse has become something of a mantra for me this week.

It’s been a challenging one. The nature of the work I do means that, at times, it drains me both physically and emotionally. Please don’t think I’m complaining- I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it has made me think again about a question that came up often during my interfaith ministry training:

“What fills your cup?”

As I travel through this wonderful journey of life, I choose to freely share some of the warmth, happiness, understanding and compassion that I’ve been blessed with in abundance. But every time I give something of myself, my cup becomes a little less full.

The key isn’t to stop pouring.

The key is knowing where to return when it’s time to refill.

I’ve always known I would end up in some kind of service to my fellow human beings, and that path continues to expand and evolve. Along the way I’ve learned that I need to make time to replenish myself. I am truly blessed with a wonderful and supportive family, a kind and patient husband, a small but perfect group of close friends and, more recently, a new and welcoming family in the church.

All of these, without a doubt, fill my cup.

However, today I want to focus on the One who fills it most completely.

The older I get, the more I realise that even Jesus made time to withdraw to quiet places to pray. Again and again throughout the Gospels we see Him stepping away from the crowds—not because He was avoiding people, but because He understood the importance of remaining close to His Father.

There is something sacred in the silence.

This week I’ve found myself worrying about something completely outside my control. I’m waiting to hear about the next stage of a path that means a great deal to me. It will be a yes, a no, or a not yet. Deep down, I know it will unfold in God’s timing and, even if it’s the not yet, I do trust Him completely… but my anxious brain has still been busy writing stories about exactly what the silence might mean.

Perhaps that’s why this week’s verse has spoken to me so deeply.

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.”

It doesn’t promise quick answers.

It doesn’t promise that waiting will be easy.

It doesn’t say I won’t become tired or anxious.

It simply reminds me that, whatever I face—even in the waiting—I do not face it alone.

Since recognising God moving in my life, I’ve felt safer. Not because my circumstances have changed overnight, but because my perspective has. I recently read a quote that said it wasn’t the size of David’s stone that defeated Goliath, but the size of David’s faith. I love the sentiment of this sentence and it resonates with me. Without a doubt the stronger my faith becomes, the smaller my giants seem.

Perhaps that’s the answer to the question – What fills my cup?

My family.

My friends.

My church.

All are wonderful gifts from God, and each one refreshes me in its own way and I value them all.

But none of them is the source.

Jesus described Himself as the giver of living water—water that truly satisfies, water that never runs dry. The more I have come to know Him, the more I understand what He meant.

God is the spring.

Everything else is simply a stream that flows from Him.

And every time I return to the source, I discover that God’s well has never run dry.

-Laura