This post was written by Rebekah Hawk, dear friend and colleague. Head over to the contributor’s page to learn more about her.

We are constantly being told to make sure we take time for ourselves. We are reminded to practice self-care, and that self-care looks different for everyone. The reason, we are told, is that we cannot pour from an empty cup. We must carve out time to fill our own cups so that we can pour into others from a full cup.

And I have had just about enough of that foolishness. If you are a servant of the Most High God, you know good and well that you cannot fill your own cup. Jesus, and only Jesus, fulfills me. When I claim that I need to have my me-time before I can serve others, I am rejecting the example Christ set for me in His Word. 

Yes, Jesus spent time alone, away from others to commune with His Father, not to enjoy a hot bath and a novel. You see, there’s nothing wrong with taking time to do the things you love . . . until taking that time becomes an idol.  And it becomes an idol when I demand that I have that time in order to serve others. 

When I step away from serving to pray and commune with my Father, I’m not demanding time for me to enjoy myself. I’m recognizing the truth that I have an empty cup all the time unless my God fills it for me. I can personally testify that I have been able to serve from an empty cup many, many times because my cup overflows with the Holy Spirit. 

Look at what the Psalmist wrote: YOU prepare a table. YOU anoint my head. My cup overflows because God’s grace is unlimited! He can pour out of my empty cup all day long, and it is not my responsibility to fill my own cup!

I run to the Shepherd, and He provides abundance for me, while those who want me to fail have to watch God lavish blessings on me. He cleans and treats my wounds and fills me to bursting, overflowing joy. 

Have you ever experienced this phenomenon? Have you ever looked back after an especially excruciating trial, or been shocked in the middle of a painful moment, and realized that your reaction was totally Spirit-led, something you knew you were incapable of in the flesh?

It is an incredible thing – to simply be a cup for the Master to fill.