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I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…
Ephesians 3:16-19 (ESV)

My friend texted to say how struck she was over a sense of lightness and joy she felt in me the other day. I try to be upbeat, but that day she noticed an extra boost from the Holy Spirit bubbling up.

I know why.

A month of events led to me feeling spiritually filled.

I had just come off of a full month of whirlwind God-focused activity, the perfect blend of things that pumped God’s love through my veins. I was tasked with giving the eulogy at a very close family member’s funeral. This family member had suffered so much in her life and is now where she needs to be with Christ.

Giving the eulogy required me to dig into God’s Word and into her testimony of a life filled with disability and trust in the Lord. What resulted was a speech that God, not I, wrote and moved the hearts of so many in the pews.

I followed that by a three-week visit from my son. He is switching jobs and told his new employer to wait a month because he and my future daughter-in-law would be visiting with me. Talk about feeling loved. That beautiful visit brought so many reminders to me of God’s love.

Don’t you wish life granted us spiritual lift after spiritual lift?

That’s what I was feeling by the time I visited with my friend–walking on clouds and feeling the Holy Spirit flowing through my veins. Nothing burdened me and my true identity of a Christ-chosen woman just oozed out.

But life doesn’t work that way. We aren’t always feeling that overflowing cup.

As soon as my son’s visit was over, life’s burdensome routine rushed in. My work schedule escalated just as I caught a summer flu and spent days in bed with a hacking fever. The summer heat and humidity hit, and my hair did its frizzy dance leaving me feeling hopelessly frumpy. When I was finally able to step out of my home again, I didn’t feel much like bubbling over with joy. I’m quite sure I didn’t make positive impressions as I did a week earlier.

You may not feel the strong roots of the Holy Spirit, but He’s there.

God promises His cup to overflow. And His Spirit flows through you and even when you aren’t manifesting confidence and beaming joy. I think of a sweet friend I homeschooled with as a young mom. Her radiant smile projected her passion for life and a confident air she had about her. She would pray over our children and tell me with no doubt, “God’s got them… no matter what.”

Her life took a difficult turn, and over the years my friend suffered dearly, even to the point of losing track of her spiritual walk. Her radiance gave way to a dull sadness about her. But even in her sadness, the Holy Spirit continued to use her, because though she herself lost her radiance, her children did not. They flourish in their lives with even more purpose because of what they witnessed their mother go through.

When you are His, He’s working through you, no matter what you’re feeling.

My friend was right to trust the Lord with her children. They thrive in spite of what happened with her. In Ephesians 3 (quoted above from ESV), Paul describes the roots of the Holy Spirit as wide and long. They are not so shallow as to require you to feel strong and joyful in order to make an impact. Sometimes the most quiet humble person in the room can make the strongest impact. Even Christ himself was a humble man.

So when you feel your cup overflowing with the Holy Spirit, rejoice in that. When you’re feeling burdened, remember that the roots are already there and His testimony shines through you in those lowly times as well. Of course I’d rather actively stay electrified with joy, but even during times when I suffer the burdens in this world, I can remain strong, knowing that His Holy Spirit is in me, regardless.

Lord,
Encourage my sisters here to water their roots with prayer and meditate on Your Word, so that others see their cup overflow and are impacted. But also remind them that it’s normal to not feel so confident at all times, and reassure them that You are there, always.