Day 11-What blessing can I pour out for the Lord?

2 Sam 23:16-17 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. "Far be it from me, O Lord, to do this!" he said. "Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?" And David would not drink it.

I read the story that went along with this verse. David and his men were encamped near their enemies, the Philistines. David was very thirsty and said, "If only someone could get me some of that water at the well near the gate of Bethlehem." The problem was...in order to get to that gate, the lines of the enemy would need to be broken through. I don't think David was seriously asking someone to take that risk for a cup of water, but three men took it upon themselves to take it very seriously.

At first, I was like: Why didn't David drink it? He was thirsty! After all these men went through to get it, it was the least he could do to show his appreciation. I know that I would have drank it. I am that self-centered. David was far more spiritual than I. He saw that the cup of water represented the very lives of some of his men and could not drink it. For him, that would be like drinking the blood at an animal sacrifice. He offered the cup up to the Lord instead.

So the question that Chambers makes me ponder today is that of offering up a blessing to God...rather than hoarding it for myself. There are a lot of quotes from Chambers today that I'd like to share.

You can never sanctify to God that with which you long to satisfy yourself. If you satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you; you must sacrifice it, pour it out, do with it what common sense says is an absurd waste.

Until I pour these things out before the Lord, they endanger those I love as well as myself because they will turn to lust.

And here is the one that really got me thinking:
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you clutched it for yourself; whereas if you had poured it out unto the Lord, you would have been the sweetest person out of heaven. If you are always taking blessings to yourself and never learn to pour out anything unto the Lord, other people do not get their horizon enlarged through you.

I think I have done a lot of clutching blessings to myself. I think that is a big problem with me. I can think of specific examples of it in my life. Ouch! How can I stop this pattern? What am I clutching to myself now? How can I pour it out before the Lord?

Photo: Underneath Rainbow Falls.  Watkins Glen, Ithaca, NY