‘Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,’ Ephesians 5:18-20 (NIV).
Rather than being under the influence of alcohol, what might it look like to be under the influence of the Spirit? Getting drunk on wine may produce a temporary ‘high’, but being filled with the Spirit will produce lasting joy. In Christ we have the opportunity to have a better, healthier, longer lasting joy to cure our depression, monotony or tension.
In these verses, Paul lists three by-products of the Spirit’s influence on our lives; singing, making music and giving thanks. Of course we won’t spend all of our waking hours involved in these activities, but they should be a part of our lives as believers. Whatever we do or say should be permeated with an attitude of joy, thankfulness to God and encouragement to others.
Instead of following the common habits of our culture such as whining, moaning and bickering, we have the call to live differently (Ephesians 5:7) separate ourselves from the behavior of those we live amongst (2 Corinthians 6:17) and to earnestly discover what habits are pleasing the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).
As we focus on the goodness of God, His mercies towards us and respond to the promptings of the Spirit we cannot help but find ourselves behaving the way Paul says in the verse above.
Prayer:
‘Father, I long for your Spirit to have greater control over my life. Please reveal what is holding me back and help me to surrender these obstacles so that I can live with greater joy, gratitude and praise to you.’
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
AMEN!
Final Thoughts:
Would others say that we are grateful people, full of joy, music and praise towards God? What is the Spirit of God drawing our attention to right now that hinders His influence in our lives? Whereabouts do we need to give the Spirit greater control?
Be Greatly Blessed!
