Teach Us to Number Our Days: How To Redeem the Time {Part 2 of 5}
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How do we walk as wise men (or women!), and make the most of our time? God gives us five things in Ephesians 5 that we are looking at in this series. Today I will be covering the second one that is found in Ephesians 5:18:
Be filled with the Spirit
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit… – Ephesians 5:18
We all want to make each moment count. We don’t want any regrets. We want to find contentment in the every day, knowing that we are doing God’s will.
But…the only way we will be able to do God’s will is if we are filled with the helper God sent us…His Holy Spirit. We must allow the Holy Spirit to help us, to guide us, to have control.
What We Are NOT To Do
Ephesians 5:18 says that we are not to get drunk with wine, “for that is dissipation.” What does dissipation mean? Here is what the online dictionary stated:
dis·si·pa·tion
1. the act of dissipating.
2. the state of being dissipated; dispersion; disintegration.
3. a wasting by misuse: the dissipation of a fortune.
4. mental distraction; amusement; diversion.
5. dissolute way of living, especially excessive drinking of liquor; intemperance.
Now we all know that getting drunk with wine is not a good thing, but I want to dig a little deeper. It appears that anything that is “dissipation” is the opposite of what we are to be doing (being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit).
I highlighted definition #4 because I think this one applies to all of us. How many of us get distracted, amused, or diverted by the things of this world? And it doesn’t even have to be bad things that distract us.
We have all heard the saying, “Don’t settle for the good at the expense of the best.” Many times we allow things into our lives that distract us from doing what God has called us to do as moms, wives, sisters, friends.
What things are distracting you? Perfectionism? Being over busy? Online time? Selfishness? Money? Job?
And note that it does not just refer to outward distraction, but “mental” distraction. We could be doing all the right things on the outside, but failing to be focused and intentional on the inside.
Now that we know what we are not to do, let’s take a look at what we are to do!
What We ARE To Do
Jesus gives a simple instruction to us…be filled with the Spirit. This means every day we need to come to Him, asking His Holy Spirit to guide us as we move throughout our day.
It is not a one time thing, but something that we need to do every minute of the day…something we need to “be” at all times.
Being filled with the Spirit is a matter of position…are we choosing to be filled and walk in the power of the Spirit, or are we choosing to do our own thing and walk in our own fleshly ways?
We cannot live our lives by our own agenda. If we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us — to have control — then we are hindering God’s work in our lives and time will not be redeemed.
Time will be wasted as we go about our days following our own agenda, our own passions, our own desires.
So…let’s choose to be filled with the Spirit — to allow Him to have total control of our days — so that He can redeem the time!
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Challenge: I encourage you to take some time to sit before the Lord and pour out your heart to Him. Ask Him to show you areas of your life that are causing you to be distracted. Confess those areas to the Lord, then surrender your life to Him, allowing His Holy Spirit to guide you each step of the day.
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Click here to view the complete “How to Redeem the Time” series!
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