Our resources or His?

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
-Paul, in 2 Corinthians 1

I love this verse of Scripture and the passage it comes from. It reminds me of the illustration (well-worn, but still excellent) of a pitcher of water. If you simply pour out the water that is in the pitcher, the pitcher is soon empty and the water ceases to flow. But if the pitcher is located under a faucet with an endless supply of water, the pitcher remains full while still flowing into whatever is around and under it.

I can't put a number on the times in my life that I've tried to do something-- a day of work, a difficult task, a relationship-- on my own resources. Maybe I last a few hours, maybe even a few days if I'm particularly well-rested at the start. But inevitably, and generally sooner than I anticipate, I find my resources have been tapped out. I'm emotionally, mentally, and physically drained, and I have nothing worthwhile left to give.

But God is the faucet to our small pitcher. If we locate ourselves near Him, under Him, in the refreshing flow of His comfort and strength, we ourselves are filled even as we pour out into others. Rather than draining our finite resources, we tap into His infinite resources and reap blessing even while we bless those around us. What a better way to live!