.....filled

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. Ephesians 5:18–19 

As Christians, we often imagine the filling of the Holy Spirit as an emotional experience.  But we should ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit on a regular basis. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” Ephesians 5:18. The term filled  in the original language, it speaks of wind filling the sail of a ship and carrying it along.

So, to be filled with the Spirit means that God’s Spirit fills our sails, making following His commands a delight, not a drudgery. But the word filled also carries the idea of permeation, God wants His Spirit to permeate every area of our lives. He wants to fill our thought lives, our work time, and our free time. He wants to be a part of everything that we say and do.

David, wrote in Psalm 23, “You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” verse 5. Shepherds often used oil to ease the pain experienced by their sheep when flies attacked during the summer months. They took a special oil, poured it over the animals’ heads, and applied it to their ears. This not only helped their wounds to heal but also repelled insects.

The phrase “be filled with the Holy Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18 is a command. God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. From the original Greek, we could translate it to say, “Be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.”

This isn’t something we do once in life. We want the Holy Spirit to fill us again and again. We need the Spirit to refill us. Be constantly filled with the Spirit. Let His wind fill your sails and permeate every area of your life.

- adapted from greg laurie