Day #145 - Be Being Filled

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Terry Vlisidis on Unsplash

How often do you fill up your car with gas?

I like to fill up our van all the way with gas so I don’t have to return to the gas station very often. I also usually like to let the tank fun about as empty as possible before I go and fill it up. My wife is not so thrilled with how low I let the tank get before going to fill it up.

When Paul writes to the Ephesians he tells them to “be filled with the Spirit.” This is interesting to me because these believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, or at least it seems very likely they already are. So do Christians lose the filling of the Spirit? Or can we run on empty and need to be filled again?

The Greek language here says we should not just be filled, but in a sense it says, “be being filled with the Spirit.” Being filled with the Spirit is not something we do to check off a list or some great thing we strive for and complete. It is not supposed to be a past experience only, but a present and ongoing reality in our lives.

C. Peter Wagner believed that from this passage, we should interpret this to mean we should be filled with the Holy Spirit everyday. He gathered this from observing that being filled with the Spirit is contrasted with being drunk on wine. Wagner reminds us that you can only be drunk for one day. You can’t be drunk today and have it last until tomorrow.

While we don’t see from the Scripture that we lose the Spirit everyday, we do see in this verse and in other passages the need for regular, ongoing and increasing experiences with the Holy Spirit. We need a daily dependence and re-filling of God’s empowering presence in our lives. A person of “the Presence” is a person that is continually being filled with and experiencing the Holy Spirit.

When someone is drunk, they get more bold, more joyful and more generous. These are counterfeits for what truly belongs to someone who is being filled with the Spirit. Believer, drink in deeply and allow the Holy Spirit to flow in your life.

Don’t waste your life but receive the filling of the Spirit. What if you have received the Spirit years ago at a camp or a church meeting? What if you experienced a fresh filling a week or a month ago? What if you regularly experience Him already? I say, there is more. Pursue a daily, ongoing and increasing filling of the Spirit in your life. Be thankful for what God did yesterday but don’t settle for the drink of the Spirit in the past, you need to drink everyday.

Holy Spirit, thank you for all that you have done in my life. But I want more of You. Fill me up again and again. Give me daily encounters with Your presence. I need to be being filled over and over and again. There is no one like You. I love Your presence. Fill me up to overflowing. In Jesus name, amen.