Our Empty Cups

We all have within us empty cups. Some of us carry cups labeled purpose, others carry ones marked acceptance, validation, belonging, love, or identity. We may not always know how to name them, but we feel the lack. They clink loudly when they scrape against disappointment or echo hollow in moments of loneliness. And for me, these cups have often felt bone-dry.

I remember struggling with an identity crisis in school. I desperately wanted to fit in, to be seen, to be liked. I worked hard to perform well, to be funny enough, cool enough, spiritual enough. But no matter how many nods or affirmations I received, something inside me still felt... empty.

Later, in ministry, that cup took on a new shape. I thought I had figured things out. But there came a season when I questioned everything. I poured myself into the work, into people, into the rhythm of ministry... but felt like I was hitting a wall. I felt disillusioned. I wondered, Is this all worth it? Why do I feel so alone? Where is God in all of this? I’d preach, then go home and feel like quitting. There were moments when even the presence of God felt distant—like a memory I could no longer quite reach.

It was in those very moments that I sensed a gentle whisper: Bring your empty cups to Me.

You see, we spend a lot of our lives trying to fill those cups ourselves. We hustle, we strive, we compare, we try harder. But God’s invitation has always been different:

“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters…” — Jeremiah 2:13

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst again...” — John 4:14

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” — Psalm 42:1

The solution to our emptiness isn’t better performance. It’s raw surrender. It’s bringing our true hearts, our longings, disappointments, and wounds, to the only One who can fill us.

There’s a moment I love in John 21. Peter, still nursing the wounds of failure after denying Jesus three times, goes back to what’s familiar — fishing. But Jesus shows up on the shore. With breakfast. With grace. With presence.

Peter recognizes Him: "It is the Lord!" Jesus doesn’t shame Peter. Instead, He restores the relationship: “Do you love Me?” He reaffirms Peter’s calling: “Feed My sheep.” And then He does something beautiful—He fixes Peter’s focus: “Follow Me.”

That line gets me every time. Not “Compete with him,” not “Compare yourself with her,” not “Figure it all out first.” Just—Follow Me.

Because Jesus knows that in Him is life. And not just any life, but life to the full (John 10:10). He is the Spring we’re looking for. The Source that doesn’t run dry.

And so, if you’re weary today... If you feel like your cup is cracked or empty, come back to the fountain.

Come back to the One who knows what you need before you even ask. Come back to the One who has not given up on you. Come back to the One whose Word says:

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.- Psalm 34:18

Bring your cup. He’s waiting.