Crammed Full

“be filled with the Spirit.”
(Ephesians 5:18)

Picture a suitcase that has been stuffed and crammed full of garments and accessories ready for the vacation journey. At face value it is unzippable with garments visible through the seams. Will it shut? Furthermore, will it zip? Yet, we apply a little pressure, which usually consists of dad and two kids sitting on top as mom attempts to zip it shut, as she pushes all that remains in with her fingers. It is full.

Picture a gully or a ditch open and bare. My grandfather had many gullies on his farm. Most of them had some sort of trash or junk thrown in them. These gullies, full of tires, angle-iron, branches, jars, car parts etc., wasn’t exactly a safe place for a kid to walk or play. What is needed is for them to be filled in with dirt, filling in the hollow, so that the area may once again become useful for some activity or such. But it must be filled in and full.

Or, perhaps a cup of coffee, nearing the bottom of the mug, growing more and more lukewarm. What it needs is a filling up with freshly brewed, stemming hot coffee. Keep it coming…!

Picture a house open and bare without any fixtures or furniture. Or, perhaps a house abandoned in a rush, old paint and soiled carpet. Yet, take that same house, put fresh paint on the walls, new carpet on the floors and begin to furnish it with furniture and various fixtures. Suddenly this place, previously unfit to live in becomes a haven of rest, peace and enjoyment.

So it is with our beings. Our souls, without His Spirit are an empty suitcase, with no goods for the journey, an exposed gully full of junk, a drained out cup, and a bare and naked house unfit for peace, rest or joy. Yet, the promise of Scripture is that the Spirit is present, ready and available to pack in the garments, cram the gullies within, fill to the full our cup and furnish us with Himself for everything we and those around us need. Paul admonishes us as followers of Christ to be continually filled and made full!

Meditation...

Take a moment, visualize and meditate on the images used above to describe what it means to be “filled” with the Spirit.

Which of the above images would presently best describe you?



Set aside time today to spend with the Holy Spirit…



Moody once illustrated this truth as follows: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After many impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to show that victory in the Christian life is not by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but rather by being filled with the Spirit.