Poured Out & Filled Up

Poured Out & Filled Up: Living a Life of Purpose

Welcome back to The Twig, friends.

Today we’re stepping into the final chapter of 2 Timothy, where we find Paul’s last recorded words before his death. Two phrases define this passage: poured out and filled up.

“I am already being poured out like a drink offering.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
— 2 Timothy 4:6–7

Paul doesn’t say his life was spilled—as if wasted or lost. He says it was poured out—given intentionally, offered as an act of worship.

Poured Out

We all know what it feels like to be poured out.
Making meals, showing up for kids or aging parents, caring for neighbors, leading at work, loving people well—it takes something out of us.

Sometimes, it leaves us tired.

And we have to be careful, because there’s a difference between living poured out and living burned out. Some of us are prone to overfunctioning because our egos need to be needed. But that’s not what Paul is describing.

He’s not talking about being superhuman.
He’s talking about being human-sized—living with rhythm, purpose, and balance.

The cup of your life wasn’t meant to be stored or protected.
It was meant to be poured out for God, for others, and for love.

Filled Up

Then Paul writes something heartbreaking:

“At my first defense, no one stood by me; everyone deserted me. I was alone.
But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength.”
— 2 Timothy 4:16–17

When people didn’t show up for Paul, God did.
When he was emptied out, he became open—and God filled him.

There’s a powerful pattern here:
When we pour out, God fills up.

It’s not the other way around.

We often think, Once I’m filled, then I’ll go serve.
But Scripture shows us it’s in the serving, the loving, and the giving that God meets us and fills us again.

What Are You Doing with the Cup of Your Life?

That’s the question Paul leaves us with:
What are you doing with your cup?

Are you holding it tightly, keeping it for yourself?
Or are you offering it—pouring it out as a gift?

And as you pour out, can you also trust God to fill you again?

“When we offer our lives, we make space for God to pour His life into us.”

So today, may you know that your offering is seen.
Your pouring out matters.
And the same God who stood with Paul stands with you.

He will fill you again and again and again.

Grace and peace, my friends.