Walking across the room with a cup of hot chocolate was going very well until I tripped over the dog. You can guess what happened. It isn’t too hard to imagine that hot chocolate spilled out of the cup and a cleanup ensued. Whatever my cup was filled with would have spilled out when it was shaken.
This scenario happens in our personal lives as well. Whatever you are filled with spills out when you are shaken. Stephen who was an active layman in the early church was arrested for preaching the gospel of Christ. He gave his defense before the Jewish Sanhedrin that included a harsh criticism of the Jewish nation and their continuous rejection of God’s spokesmen. His sermon caused vehement anger and they dragged him out of the city and prepared to stone him. As the rocks were flying, Stephen looked into heaven and the Scriptures record in Acts 7:55,59,60: “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep”. What spilled out of Stephen when the stones shook him? Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, he was full of grace, and he was full of peace. When the rocks were flying, prayer, forgiveness, and a peaceful view of heaven overflowed from this choice servant.
Have you been shaken up lately? Has some physical pain or emotional turmoil rocked your world? Has someone pushed your buttons or pulled your chain? What spilled out? Was it anger or bitterness that spilled out? Was it fear or worry or jealousy that spilled from your heart when things went sideways? We as Christ’s followers need to be filled with the Spirit on a regular basis. Because when we get shaken, the Spirit will spill forth from us. We then have the wonderful privilege of being God’s overflow people.