“I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Even by the apostle Paul’s standards, that’s a particularly bold claim. But Paul understood that with God, all things are possible!
Too many Christians think victorious, abundant living is for someone else. But God wants all His children to experience the fullness and freshness of living as Paul did, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Now, there are two kinds of Christians. First, there are carnal Christians who are nominal, halfhearted, selfish, and often miserable. They don’t live in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. They live in depletion and defeat. And they don’t reflect the love of Christ.
God wants to help you be the other type of Christian that Paul talks about: believers who are “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). No, they’re not perfect, but they’ve yielded to God’s Spirit at work within them! Spirit-filled believers live full, fresh, fulfilled, “can do,” Christlike lives. They are bold like Paul, a man who was full of the Holy Spirit, armed only with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who took on the Roman-Greco world!
If you’re a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit. The question is, does the Holy Spirit have you? Are you allowing the Spirit of God to control your life, your days, and your destiny? This is the Spirit-filled life, and this is your source of victory.
When you are filled with or controlled by the Spirit, you’re like a sailboat catching the wind, powered along by the Spirit of God. You are like a weary climber who sees the peak and gets his second wind. Being Spirit-filled is also like being permeated, like the way we rub seasoning into meat so it tastes better.
So today, are you filled with God’s Spirit? I didn’t ask if the Spirit lives in you. He does if you’re a Christian. But do you call upon the Spirit to empower you, enabling you to “do all things” according to God’s will?
Make room for Him by living each day with arms open wide, saying, “Lord, my life is Yours! Cleanse me, change me, fill me, use me for Your glory.” That’s the secret to unlocking your strength.
By Jack Graham
