Last week, we asked a simple question:

Who is pouring into you?

And based on the response, it seems that question touched a tender place for a lot of women.

Because so many of us are pouring.

We pour into our children.

Our husbands.

Our friendships.

Our churches.

Our ministries.

Our coworkers.

Our communities.

We answer the texts.

We remember the appointments.

We notice when someone seems “off.”

We pray for the hurting.

We encourage the discouraged.

We carry burdens that aren’t always visible to anyone else.

And somewhere in the middle of taking care of everyone around us, we can forget to ask:

Where am I being filled?

But this week, we want to take that question one step further.

Because while we absolutely need godly women who encourage us, pray for us, challenge us, and walk beside us, there’s something even the best friend, mentor, small group, Bible teacher, husband, or community cannot do.

They cannot fill the place in us that was created for Jesus.

You Can Be Surrounded and Still Be Empty

Sometimes we think the answer to exhaustion is simply more support.

And support matters.

God created us for biblical community. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, pray for one another, and walk together.

But have you ever noticed that you can be surrounded by wonderful people and still feel empty?

You can have people encouraging you and still feel spiritually dry.

You can sit in church every Sunday and still feel disconnected from the Lord.

You can listen to sermons, podcasts, devotionals, and worship music and still realize:

I haven’t personally sat with Jesus in a while.

That’s because other people can encourage your soul.

But they cannot be the source of your soul.

Jesus must be.

The Danger of Living on Someone Else’s Overflow

This one may sting a little.

Sometimes we spend so much time listening to what God showed someone else that we stop asking Him to speak to us through His Word.

We listen to the sermon.

Save the Christian Reel.

Share the devotional.

Turn on the podcast.

Read the caption.

And none of those things are inherently wrong. In fact, God can use them beautifully.

But they were never meant to replace personally opening the Word of God.

There is a difference between hearing what God taught someone else and sitting before His Word yourself.

There is something deeply personal about opening your Bible and saying:

“Lord, teach me.”

Not, “Give me something I can post.”

Not, “Give me something I can teach.”

Not, “Give me something I can send to someone else.”

Just:

“Lord, what do You want to do in me?”

Abide Before You Produce

Jesus gave us such a clear picture of this in John 15:

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
— John 15:5 KJV

We love the fruit part.

We want fruitful marriages.

Fruitful parenting.

Fruitful ministries.

Fruitful friendships.

Fruitful businesses.

Fruitful lives.

But sometimes we become so focused on producing fruit that we forget where the fruit comes from.

Jesus didn’t say:

Produce more so you can abide.

He said:

Abide—and fruit will come.

Before the pouring comes the abiding.

Before the doing comes the being.

Before the serving comes the sitting.

Before the fruit comes connection to the Vine.

Maybe the reason some of us feel like we’re running on fumes isn’t because we need to try harder.

Maybe we’ve simply been trying to produce from a place we haven’t allowed Him to refill.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Quiet Time

Now, before you picture a two-hour morning routine with a spotless kitchen, three highlighters, a beautiful journal, worship music playing softly, and coffee that somehow stays hot…

That’s not what we’re talking about.

Your time with God may look different in different seasons.

There may be seasons when you have an uninterrupted hour.

And there may be seasons when you have fifteen minutes before little feet come running into the room.

There may be seasons when you study an entire chapter.

And seasons when you sit with a handful of verses.

Your routine may change without your priority changing.

The question isn’t:

“Does my quiet time look impressive?”

The question is:

“Am I making room to personally meet with God?”

Because fifteen intentional minutes with an open Bible is better than another day spent saying:

“I’ll start when life slows down.”

Don’t Just Read It. Let It Read You.

And when you do open your Bible, don’t rush through it simply to say you did it.

Slow down.

Ask questions.

What does this passage teach me about God?

What does it reveal about the human heart?

Is there something here I need to believe?

Is there something in me that needs to change?

What would obedience to this truth look like today?

James wrote:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
— James 1:22 KJV

The goal isn’t simply to finish your Bible reading.

The goal is to allow the Word to change the woman doing the reading.

Let it confront you.

Let it encourage you.

Let it correct you.

Let it remind you.

Let it expose the lie you’ve been believing.

Let it redirect the attitude you’ve been excusing.

Let it strengthen the faith that’s been wavering.

Let it point you back to Jesus.

Don’t just read the Word.

Let the Word get into you.

Before You Pour Again…

Maybe today you have a dozen people who need something from you.

There are lunches to pack.

Emails to answer.

People to call.

Meetings to attend.

Children to raise.

A husband to love.

A ministry to serve.

A friend who needs encouragement.

And those things matter.

But before you spend another day pouring yourself into everyone around you, ask:

Have I allowed Jesus to pour into me?

Not through someone else’s relationship with Him.

Not through someone else’s revelation from Scripture.

Not through someone else’s quiet time.

Mine.

My Bible open.

My heart surrendered.

My attention on Him.

Because you were never created to be the source.

You were created to stay connected to the Source.

A Simple Challenge for This Week

So here’s our challenge.

Before you reach for your phone…

Before you begin tackling your list…

Before everyone else gets access to your attention…

Give Him 15 intentional minutes.

Open your Bible.

Pray.

Read slowly.

Ask questions.

And before you close it, ask one final question:

“Lord, because of what I just read, what needs to be different in me today?”

Then get up and live it.

Not because fifteen minutes is a magic formula.

Not because you’re trying to earn God’s favor.

Not because you’re adding another task to an already overwhelming list.

But because you recognize something important:

You cannot continually pour from a place you never allow Him to refill.

So tomorrow morning, before everything else…

Come to the Source.

And let Him fill you first.

Need a Little Direction?

Maybe your struggle isn’t wanting to spend time in God’s Word.
You simply don’t know where to begin.

That’s one reason we love Amy Edwards’ Women of the Word Bible study series.
It’s not meant to replace your Bible. It’s a tool designed to help you open it, slow down, dig deeper into the women within its pages, and ultimately learn more about the God behind every story.

So grab your Bible, grab your study, and start where you are.
You don’t need the perfect routine.

You just need to begin.

Because we don’t simply want to know about the women of the Word.
We want to become women of the Word. 🤍