I recently read this analogy (and can’t claim it as my own):

You’re holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? 

“Because someone bumped into me!”

Wrong answer. 

You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.

Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which will happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.

So we have to ask ourselves … “what’s in my cup?”

When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Or something else?

As a daily tea drinker (and follower of Christ’s gospel), I certainly hope that whatever would spill from my cup would be complete trust in the Lord. The world looks at us (believers), anticipating an extreme reaction—anger, fear, frustration—when troubles arise. But we have the ability to surprise them. Instead of jumping to the worst possible scenario in our minds or actions, we have the peace of God and understanding that He’ll take care of us no matter what. 

Now let’s be honest: this lesson doesn’t always come easily (at least for me). As an anxious person by nature, I have to rein in my brain from going off the deep end at times. And that’s exactly why He reminds us that He’s right there by our sides, in every moment: 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

The world is a crazy place right now—and all the more reason to showcase where our faith lies. May our first thoughts turn from being afraid of the diagnosis, the job loss, the relationship issue … to “what’s in my cup?” 

How we react makes all the difference. Someone is always watching—even if that someone is just the Lord. Let’s let our spills be saintly. 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:45)

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.