Runnin' on Empty?

~ "The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." ~

Isaiah 11:2

What does it mean to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" ?  It's a phrase that's used several times in Scripture, primarily in Acts of the Apostles.  But it's also used to describe John the Baptist, and his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah; and of course, Jesus.

We also see that the Spirit of the Lord "came upon" people in the Old Testament, like Samson and Gideon.  Does that mean they weren't filled?  Does it mean it wasn't permanent, but for the purposes of accomplishing something specific?  We do know that at least in the case of King Saul, God did remove His Spirit from him, (1 Samuel 16) but to my knowledge, that's the only time we see that.

Of course, we would much rather be filled with God's Spirit than just have it come upon us occasionally.    2 Timothy 3 says that God would have us be complete ~ thoroughly equipped for every good work ~ and that sounds to me like being ready all the time.

But are we really filled all the time?  I think there's two ways of looking at this, to make sure we're doing our part to be filled.

First, is the idea of filling something.  My husband, the Apple of my Eye, used to love reminding me that "two objects of matter cannot occupy the same place at the same time".  I don't know if that's an actual scientific law, or just something he came up with, but it's certainly true.  {He did invent the Law of Liquid Multiplication but that's for another time.}   So it stands to reason that if I'm too full of me, I'm not gonna have much room left for the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist said of Jesus, in John 3:  "He must increase, and I must decrease."  There's great wisdom in realizing that.  I might have been "full" of the Holy Spirit ten years ago, but I'd like to think that as I've grown spiritually, and gained more of God's wisdom, and become more like Him, that I have decreased.  (I really, really hope that's the case, although only He can say!)  So if I have decreased, then I must be fuller of His Spirit than I was ten years ago, even though I was "full" then.  Get it?    You can fill two glasses, to the brim, with water, but if one has more ice cubes than the other, then it's going to have less water.  Until the ice melts.  Then they're gonna be the same, so the analogy only works if it's a cold room.  Or if we use orange juice in this conversation.  Which is fine.  Cuz I like ice cubes in my orange juice....

The other way of looking at this concept is in a lesser-known definition of "full".  This definition is "completely engrossed with; unable to stop thinking or talking about".   Ever said about someone, "he's really full of himself"?  That's the meaning I'm referring to there.   Can you imagine how much you'd decrease; how effective you could be in serving Him if you were "completely engrossed" with Him?  If you were unable to stop thinking about Him?  The capacity boggles the mind.

The Lord does His part ~ more than His part, really ~ in giving us His Spirit.  He fills us, to the brim, with Himself.  We owe it to Him ~ literally ~ to do the same; to be full of Him.

~ "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us,

because He has given us of His Spirit." ~

1 John 4:13