A Simple Glass Of Water

God met me in a way that I desperately needed last week. This time it wasn’t during our Sunday morning service or while I was spending time with the Lord in prayer and the Word. I was in my kitchen getting my kids some water.

I’m blessed to be the Worship Pastor at Wellspring, but before that I am husband to Taylor and father to Norah (4), Cohen (2), and Harper (3 months). Taylor has been taking the late-night shift with the baby, so I’ve been up early with our older kids, going through the morning routine—getting them out of bed, on the potty, into their clothes, watered and fed, and all the rest.

While I love my children deeply, I’ll also confess that this kind of work has a way of grinding me down over time. I find that recently I’ve often been impatient, irritable, unpleasant, and always tired.

One morning I was in a particularly sour state, and suddenly it was as if my soul came to life. A smile came to my face as I was overwhelmed with contentment and joy. I was filling up my kids’ water containers and the Spirit broke through and brought to my mind the words of Jesus — “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… that person will certainly not lose their reward” (Mt. 10:42 NIV). Jesus will later reveal that when we serve those who are needy in seemingly simple, tangible ways, we are actually serving Christ (Mt. 25:40).

God reminded me of a few things in that moment — that he works in us and through us when we’re at our best, our worst, and everywhere in between; that his still, small voice can penetrate through the mundane, the ordinary, even the things that we’ve come to loathe; and that all those seemingly insignificant tasks done for the “least of these”—what Mother Theresa called “small things with great love”—are gathered up in the chorus of a life of worship and service to the King, whether we realize it or not.

I gave Jesus a cup of cold water last week. And I bet you loved and served him too, probably in many more ways than you realize.