Fu an skailin

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. - Psalm 23v5

'Fu an skailin, fu an skailin, my wee bicker's fu an skailin. Since the Lord saved me I'm as blithesome as can be. My wee bicker's fu an skailin.'

This goes a little chorus we sing some times. According to the Low Country Boys from Northern Ireland that is the Scottish version of the song most of us better know as 'Running Over.'

It is a fun little feel-good song, and I have no problem with those. They certainly have their place and can be a great little boost. They are far better than just wallowing in pity party pit.

And yet it is hard to say with total honesty that 'since the Lord saved me I am blithesome (happy) as can be. Sometimes I am not happy. Sometimes not only is my cup not 'fu an skailin' sometimes my 'wee bicker (beaker, cup) is as dry as a bone.

So how can David say 'My cup runneth over' and Roger say 'My cup is bone dry?'David by no means had it made. Shepherding is hard work. He always had to be on guard for wild animals or thieves. He has to watch for dangers. He had plenty of stress. We don't know for sure when he wrote this psalm, there is no record, but he wrote a lot while being by pursued and his armies. When we read about 'the presence of my enemies' and the 'valley of the shadow of death' it appears that he is facing the same kind of opposition here.

And yet, David could say, 'My cup runneth over.'

I think the difference is clear. David had his eyes in the right direction. He was focused heavenward despite all of the the bad stuff around him. The point is that our 'wee bicker' can be 'fu an skailin' no matter what the circumstances.

How? The word of God answers that too. 'Don't look at the things you can see, but the things you cannot see. The things you can see are temporary, they are going to all pass away. The things you cannot see are eternal with eternal benefits.'

'Set your thoughts and attentions and desires are the things that are above, not on things on the earth.'

If I could just keep my attention there my cup would always be running over. When I think of he end and of eternity my heart will fill with joy and that joy should be enough to help me through the worst of times here.

'Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief. Help me to see my cup as 'fu an skailin' even in the darkest days.