I found a “mug of hope” on Amazon! I saw it several months ago, but debated with myself about buying it. I finally gave in and it arrived this week. It’s such a fitting mug for this blog, don’t you think?

I suspect, however, that this mug is intended for coffee drinkers. People who enjoy the taste of coffee can’t seem to start the day without it! I have tried coffee a few times and I just don’t understand why people like it so much. As for me, I’ll stick with tea! Perhaps I should give my new mug to my daughter. She loves her coffee. She is such an avid fan of coffee that it makes up much of her kitchen decor. She recently bought a new mat for her kitchen floor:

It’s all about coffee! Not one word about tea. But I do like those big mugs! What really got my attention, however, is the definition of coffee in the upper right corner. “Coffee: a hug in a cup”. If that’s true, no wonder people like it so much. So I began to wonder. What’s in your cup? Are you a coffee or tea person? Or perhaps you prefer mugs of hot chocolate, warm milk or hot cider. I know someone who occasionally likes a cup of just plain hot water.

My youngest granddaughter came to visit me recently. She’s only two and loves to pretend. I have a set of toy dishes that she enjoys playing with. On this particular occasion she was sharing cups of … something … with me. The little cups, of course, were empty. We were pretending. The fun thing about pretending is we can put anything in our cup that we want to! I can even drink bitter coffee when it’s pretend! So we fill our cups with imaginary beverages and ask each other, “What’s in your cup?”

If you’re on the older side of life (like me) and attended Sunday School as a child, you might remember singing this little chorus complete with hand motions:

🎶 Running over, running over, My cup is full and running over. Since the Lord saved me, I’m as happy as can be! My cup is full and running over. 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶

This children’s chorus is based on a verse from Psalm 23: My cup runneth over. The verse refers to the many blessings from God and the overflowing joy we have because of Him. I like the promise Jesus gives in John 15:11: I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! (I encourage you to read the previous verses of John 15, so you can know what it was Jesus told them.) But the truth is we’re not always overflowing with joy, are we?

Sometimes we have other things in our cups, in our hearts, in our inner beings. The Bible encourages us to be filled with joy and peace, with love and hope, with goodness and righteousness. Instead we struggle with sorrow and grief, with fear and doubt, with anger and bitterness. These things seep into our hearts and replace the joy we should have. This is why Proverbs 4:23 tells us to keep our hearts with all diligence. Be careful what you put into your cup!

But we do have help! Look at this verse! Read it and read it again.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace, because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:13

This one verse is packed full of encouragement! We can get help filling our hearts with good things by turning to the very source of hope, by trusting Him, and by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit! We can’t do it ourselves, but He is more than ready to help us. I am reminded of a line from an older chorus we sometimes still sing. “Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord!”

I ask you again, what’s in your cup? If you are struggling with negative thoughts and despondent feelings, the Lord can fill your heart with His goodness until your cup is full and running over!

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