"You can't pour from an empty cup."

But, what's in your cup?

Can you count how many times you've heard the saying “you can't pour from an empty cup”? I can't. It's been way too many times.

We say it when we are stressed and tired and we want to take a step back to recuperate. You know, do a little self-care here and there. We say it when we want to encourage ourselves or someone else to take some time to pour into themselves. You know, learn a skill or two, read a book and basically spend time doing things that will help them grow.

They say you can't pour from an empty cup and I agree. But, if you don't pour from an empty cup, it means you will be pouring from a full or filled cup, right? Right. I know that at this point you're probably wondering where I'm going with this but please, stay with me.

So, what should be in this cup that is not meant to be empty? For this cup to be full, what should its content be? More specifically, what is in your cup? Yes, your cup. If you paused to look into your cup right now, what will you find in it? What will the content of your cup be? Will it be something you should be pouring into other people? Would you wish for the same content to be poured into you?

With this letter, I'd like to invite you to take a different approach to this saying. A God-approach if you will. I want to invite you to pause and check your “cup”. To pause and evaluate the content of your cup through the lens of God's word and His Spirit.

Whether you are a Preacher of the Gospel, a Writer, an Author, a Content Creator, a Business Owner, a Thought Leader, or a Career Professional, it is true that in one way or another, you are pouring into people. It could be through your sermon, books, your posts, your content, your ideas, your personal style, or your word of encouragement or counsel.

Before you became who you are right now, other people poured into you. Your parents or guardians, your teachers, pastors, etc. And if you still value growth even at the level you are, I'm sure there are different sets of people pouring into you. My point is, we're always pouring from our cup into people and people are always pouring from their cups into us. So, how do you know the content of what you are pouring into people? Or that which is poured into you? It is by evaluation. What fruits are you bearing by what is being poured into you? And, what fruits are the people you pour into bearing?

To be sure of the content in your cup you need to trace it back to where you are being refilled. Who do you allow to pour into you? Why do you let them pour into you? Have you taken the time to study the type of results they produce and the kind of fruits they bear? How do you determine if this is the right content to pour into other people?

Yes, do not pour from an empty cup. But even better, do not pour from a corrupted cup. Do you know that your cup can be filled with the wrong content and so, you pour the wrong content into other people?

The people you interact with, the movies you watch, the songs you listen to, the books you read, the sermon, the podcast, all of this have a way of pouring into you and if you are not selective and intentional, the end result will be a corrupted content that is neither good for you nor for other people.

So again, what's in your cup?

As a child of God and lover of His word with a command to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16), what's in your cup? If you looked in your “cup” right now, will you find contents that “men” will see and glorify your Father in heaven? If you poured it into someone else, will you be happy with the fruit it bears in them? Would you be happy if someone poured such contents into you?

Again, this is an invite to pause and evaluate your cup. One thing we will never do here is judge and condemn ourselves. That is a trick of the enemy and we are wiser than that, by God. Yes, we will have these not-so-easy conversations. But it will be with and in love. Okay? Okay! *winks

Maybe in your evaluation, you find that it is time to empty your cup completely. Or, it is time to strain the tea. Maybe you need to declutter. Maybe you need to make room. Maybe you need to stop pouring into others for now. Maybe you need to go through your content ideas and make some changes. Whatever it is, remember that you are not alone. I mean that. In Galatians 5:16, the word of God literally says “So I say, let the Holy guide your lives…”. You have help. Whether you want to pause, stop, let go, or change, you have the help of the Holy Spirit as a child of God. One of my favourite verses to go to is Romans 8:26 and it says “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…”.

And right now as you read this, if you're wondering that should actually be in your cup, use the guidance in Galatians 5:22-26 “But God's Spirit causes us to live in a different way. We love other people. We are happy and we have peace in our minds. We are patient, kind and good. People can trust us to do what is right. We respect other people and we rule ourselves properly. God's Spirit helps us to live in that way. There is no law that says these things are wrong…”.

Dear light bearer, let God pour into you. Let the word of God be your content. Let the Spirit of God hover over and in your life and produce His fruits in and through you. This is how you can be sure of what is in your cup. This is how you can be confident that what you are pouring into other people will bear the right fruits. And you too, evaluate and see to it that the people pouring into you are letting God pour into them. This is how we can truly be sure of what's in our cups. By the fruit it bears.

Make it an intentional act to pause once in a while and evaluate the content in your cup.

God wants to fill your cup. I pray you let Him.

Thank you for reading this letter. If you were truly blessed by reading this, please help me spread the Gospel by sharing it on any platform you can. Your support is so much appreciated now more than ever, as I trust in God to help me obey His instructions and birth the visions He has placed in my heart. God bless you greatly.

Reading this and you have some concerns, questions, or you'd just like to connect with me? Sure thing! I am on Instagram as catherine_assam and our Newsletter has a whole community page too where I share video content and other stuff, and I'll be happy to connect with you.

Until our next letter, may our good God keep you standing in and with Him in Jesus’ name, Amen.

I love you!