Connecting During DeploymentSample

Overflowing

Have you ever been asked, “Do you see a glass as half empty or half full?” How you answer supposedly supplies a clue about whether you are pessimistic and cynical, or optimistic and hopeful. 

But we never find the words “half empty” or “half full” in Scripture—only “overflowing.” Deployment could cause our hearts to be hardened, but the Bible instructs us to be thankful for all things—overflowing with these qualities:

Scripture encourages us to be overflowing with praise: “May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees” (Psalm 119:171 NIV).

We are to be overflowing with hope: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NIV).

We are to be overflowing with love: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you” (I Thessalonians 3:12, NIV).

We are to be overflowing with comfort: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Corinthians 1:5, NIV).

We are to be overflowing with thanks: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7, NIV).

Taking this one step further, we know that one cannot be “overflowing” unless one is “filled.” As Christians, we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the gift from the Father at salvation:

Ephesians 5:15-20 tells us, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit . . . Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV).

1. Tell your spouse two things for which you are thankful during this deployment.

2. Pray for each other to have a heart of thankfulness, even during this time of geographic separation.

Listen as pastor and theologian John Piper talks about what it means to praise God instead of focusing on ourselves.