Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.

One of the important steps to hosting any gathering is making sure you have enough food and drinks for your guests. A common fear when hosting is to not have enough for the people who come to the party; we understand the resources we have are finite. If additional people attend the party, we may not have enough. We can also encounter this concern in our spiritual lives, knowing we have physical, emotional, and literal limits. We fear if we serve too much we can get burned out and lose ourselves in the process.

Jesus could live a life of humble service because His focus was on the eternal, infinite life God had for Him. He too had physical limitations as a human, but He had access to the Source of life who supplied all His needs. Christ gave us an example by laying His life down to become a servant. Even with His high status, He emptied Himself. Many times, it is hard for us to serve because we fear what it will cost us. We fear pouring from an empty cup! But emptying ourselves does not have to mean losing ourselves. Jesus never poured from an empty cup because He had the source of Living Water that never runs dry. He took time with the Father to rest and be filled to be renewed for service again. When we serve for the approval of people or attempting to achieve righteousness on our own, we will always hit burnout. But being filled by Christ and looking to Him as the Source of life will change the way we live.

• Have you ever experienced burnout? What happened?
• How are you seeking to grow in humility and service?
• Pray and ask God to fill you with His Living Water so you can be equipped to serve others.