“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Espesians 5:18-30
I could sit here and tell you that I’m really good at gratitude. That I love worship and I’m constantly doing it. But that’d be a lie. You’re looking at a person who continually struggles with discontentment.
Thanksgiving is around the corner.. and I am reminded that for me, I hate the cliche ways of thinking about gratitude. Listing what I’m thankful for rarely pierces my thankless heart. It rarely lasts for me.
So, here is something that has truly made the difference for me. A realization that one aspect of being filled with the Holy Spirit means we worship and are thankful. That a SPIRIT filled life means we are hyper-aware of Gods love for us which leads us to sing psalms to one another, thank God, and commune with each other in thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:18-30 says,
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Metaphorically, a life without worship is an empty life.
Worship fills us with the Spirit-and the Spirit fills us as we worship
To be filled with the Spirit means we are led to worship, and to be led to worship means we are filled with the Spirit. Gosh, that is so convicting to me.
Another thing that convicts me is that this verse in Ephesians describes an event that is done with others. Worshipping as a body of believers.
I believe that upon conversion we are filled with the Holy Spirit, but I also believe that we can have a continual filling of the Spirit through reading the Word, operating within our giftings, preaching the Word, praying, giving, singing songs, thanks, and worship.
So, today if you are empty, joyless, exhausted, and distracted let’s lift our hands in worship-to remind ourselves that we are desperate for more and more of His Spirit. #chasingsacred
![I’ll be honest with you. I was ready to give up this week.
It can be hard to discern when you are supposed to stop something and when you are called to persevere.
When I think of “planning long ago” I think of strategy. I think of God thinking about putting you right where you are, doing what you are doing on purpose.
This message was from my earthly father yesterday, but maybe you needed this note from your Heavenly Father. (This passage is in Ephesians)
[save and share to encourage others]
You might be feeling defeated, exhausted and wondering if what you are doing is helping?
Long ago, God thought about you. He declared you a masterpiece.
Stepping into what he has pre-planned for you might be hard at times, but hard does not mean there is an absence of good or an absence of your father. Remember today, HE created good things for you and preplanned them for you from the beginning.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10) #chasingsacred](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)