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“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones,”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬, NIV‬‬.

I was challenged the other day with the opportunity to help someone get back on the right track. The Holy Spirit was so gentle and reminded me of the steps I took when I was in her situation.

I remember I saw a hungry woman, and with little to no effort to help her, walked by. I didn’t even care that I had done so. Well, maybe I cared a little, but I justified my actions, as I put my groceries in the back of my car.

The Holy Spirit then asked:

How is your “love?” Meaning how am I doing at loving others right now? I apparently was struggling at that moment with loving others well. Others had been replaced with a deeper love for me.

How did I change from a me centered love, to another centered love? How can I love others successfully? First of all, I need to honest about my actions and service. Is it for God, or for me?

Is it a chore?

Is it a delight?

Is it a challenge coming up with ways to do so?

Am I seeing the needs of others around me?

Am I meeting said needs? If so, how? If not—why not?

I have found that when I am in God, or filled with the Spirit, or have just put on the armor of God, meeting the needs of others flows out of me naturally and uninhibited. When we are in God’s will (doing what He has asked us to do) we actually can love others as He did and does.

There are times when it feels like I'm barely surviving. When I miss those opportunities right in front of us, like a woman asking for food. That's when I need to reconnect with my Father and ask for His overflowing love to wash through you.

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you!” James 4:8.

How does one know if we are or not drawing near to God?

It’s really a simple test—if we see a need do we meet it? Maybe we don’t really want to meet it, or do we justify not meeting it at all. Like I did.

Be honest—it will help to determine how filled up we are with God’s love. It’s not designed to point out our sins—but just how filled we are with God’s love…

When we are filled to overflowing—we see and just respond. When we see and we don’t respond—we are lacking in an abundance of God’s love. We enter the state of “lacking,” and often unaware.

During this state we usually fall back into our “default setting” of:

I’m anxious.

I’m scared.

Someone needs to love me!

It’s like our souls are dehydrated.

When one is dehydrated—and I have experienced this all too often—

We fade.

We become light head, unable to think clearly. We don’t remember to drink—that which would actually solve all of our current and immediate problems.

We sit and drift…away.

When we are spiritual dehydrated, we fade, as well. We don’t, can’t, or refuse to drink from God’s hand. That which could fill us up to overflowing.

When we are filled to over-flowing—we have washed away our defaults—and are living in our transformed state—filled and walking in God’s love.

We don’t notice our headaches, because we are filled to overflowing and we lack nothing. Psalm 23:1.

Are you fading? Spend some time with Jesus—asking Him to fill you to overflowing—because you love Him and want to serve Him.

If you are asking for selfish return—fill me to take away my headaches—there’s no guarantee that that prayer will be answered.

But if we can get to the place of —I want to serve You King Jesus—then watch and see how good and faithful our Lord is to you.

He is drawing us into knowing Him and loving Him fully.

It’s a good thing.

Father,

If we remember that You are honestly and perfectly good, and that You are completely for us, we’d drink fully from your hand.

But many of us are walking in a desert, not realizing how thirsty we have become. We meander deeply into the unknown, reasoning out our next step with our default wisdom. Which has been sin cursed and manmade.

But today, we desire to drink fully from Your offering. Not to meet our own needs, but in order to equip us to love others as You have done for thousands of years. You love us all so well.

We ask that Your love be poured out on us, flowing freely in order to reach others who are dehydrated, too.

Help us to serve You as we serve others.

Amen.