On the Giving of Cups of Cold Water

Writing can be a rather thankless job. Now, lest you hasten off to make any sour conclusions, allow me to elaborate.

Make no mistake: I do not write for applause or praise. I write, first and foremost, as unto the Lord. I feel as though I was made to write; to write about Him and for Him. There is something in me that has to get out onto the page, and it is my utmost hope that every iota I write abounds for His eternal glory and pleasure.

Secondly, I write, quite simply, because I love to write. I love to write, and I love to write about the One who made me, saved me, and loves me. Eric Liddell, the Olympic sprinter and Christian missionary whose story is documented in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, once famously said,

"God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

God made me a writer. And when I write, I feel His pleasure.

And yet, sometimes I do not feel His pleasure. Sometimes, I do not feel pleasure of any kind when I write. Complicating this issue is the occasional dark thought that every writer must at some point contend with: "Does anyone even read this stuff?"

As writers, we write, rewrite, edit, rewrite, and re-edit, seemingly endlessly, all in an effort to perfect our craft and maximize the value and enjoyment that readers glean from our words. A lot of effort and time goes into even a simple piece of writing, with much of this effort going entirely unseen (save by the Lord).

As Christian writers, or Christian workers of any kind, we do all this work and more for the glory of our Lord and King, for He is worthy. He is worth the effort, the time, the extra research, and the scrutiny over every jot and tittle. If a Christian writer has their head fastened on tightly, they'll be content with a potentially smaller audience, seeking rather to dig deeply than spread themselves too thin in constant pursuit of a larger platform and audience. An audience of One is sufficient - for it is unto the One that we write. Indeed, we must realize that as Christians - writers, welders, and housewives alike - we are to do all things with excellence as unto the Lord:

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23-24).

Nonetheless, we are still human and it is only human to admit our need for encouragement from time to time. I said earlier that I do not write for the praise of this world; that I write because I love to write and that I write for Him who gave me the gift, ability, and desire to write. While that may be true, it is not the whole truth, because I also write for each and every one of you, my dear readers. All the same, I do not write for your praise, rather I aim to write for your good.

My chief aim in each and every word I write is that His fame and glory would be fanned and magnified and that your good would be multiplied. Indeed, that is often how I end my prayers before I dive into another writing project: "Lord, may my words abound for your glory and for the utmost good of those who would read them."

And because I write in large part for the good and encouragement of my readers, I love to hear from you, my readers, when a particular word or post is used by the Lord to bless and encourage you. It may be a simple email, text, or comment on your end, but it is a cup of cold water to my soul, an answered prayer that is beyond the realm of words entirely. Indeed, I suspect I would have ceased writing long ago had it not been for the warm words of encouragement that I got along the way from my readers. Truly, how many good things in this world may have gone undone entirely had it not been for a word fitly and kindly spoken at just the right moment. You know who you are, and from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

Several years ago, a young man from my church was given a severe cancer diagnosis. Though the cancer was detected early and swiftly acted upon by doctors, the disease was spreading rapidly nonetheless - a terminal diagnosis seemed imminent.

I did not know this young man particularly well, and given he lived a ways away from where I did, it seemed likely that I would not have opportunity to speak to him in-person. However, I thought it prudent to extend some form of encouragement to this young man, however simple.

And simple my encouragement was, for in the end I only wrote a short letter and passed it along to the young man through a mutual friend of ours. Indeed, I acknowledged the simplicity of my gesture in the letter itself.

In this letter, I provided an illustration of sorts. I straightaway made clear that my words, in and of themselves, were nothing special. However, I went on to write that perhaps my words could be, temporary and fleeting as they were, as cups of cold water to his weary soul. By drawing from the wellspring of God's Word and His precious promises, it was my hope that the little words I offered to my brother in Christ would serve as refreshment and encouragement, strengthening him sufficiently so that he could go to and from the well on his own strength in due time. If I could not bring him to the well, nor the well to him, then it was my heart's intent to bring that cold, living water his way, cup by cup.

You see, brothers and sisters, that is the very essence of encouragement itself. I did not offer to that young man anything that he did not already know, I just pointed him back to the well from which those cold cups of water flowed. We are not the well, we are not that fountainhead of living water - only the Lord Jesus Christ is.

"Truly, how many good things in this world may have gone undone entirely had it not been for a word fitly and kindly spoken at just the right moment."

True encouragement, even in its minutest form, be it a kind word or cup of cold water, is mighty enough to change the course of another's life. When we give another soul a cup of cold water, our aim should be to strengthen them enough that, cup by cup, they find their joy and zeal yet again in the Lord Himself: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (Proverbs 16:24). What a joy to be used by the Lord in such a way. At times, only a cup or two is needed for the weary soul to realize that they were leaning against the well the whole time.

By encouraging a weary soul, may it be our desire in and through our encouragement that the Lord would increase, and that we would decrease. Let every cup of cold water we give, as with all we do, be done unto the Lord, from whom we will be richly rewarded:

"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42).

I did not see that young man in-person for quite some time. And when I did, he was entirely free from cancer. Though we had only spoken a handful of times, he sought me out at a church event one Sunday and thanked me for my letter. With a glowing smile on his face, he told me that it was the encouraging words of the body of Christ, of which my letter was but a drop, that pointed him back time and again to the love and faithfulness of Christ Himself.

Dear brother and sister, is there someone in your life that can use a cup of cold water today?

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Photo by Sylvester Sabo, Unsplash

Author’s Note: In an effort to write with integrity and as unto the Lord, it is important to stress that, though these events are in fact true, I do not always recall the exact words used in specific conversations. As much as I’m able, I strive to remain faithful to the event in question, capturing the ‘intent’ of the conversation when my memory fails with respect to exact words.