Passage
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV)
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Questions
Are you living a life how you want or how God wants?
Why do you follow God’s standards? Is it to look like a good person or because you understand that God just wants the best for us and others?
What areas of your life, rather than worldly pleasures, do you need the Holy Spirit to fill you?
Do your worldly pleasures last? Or do they eventually leave you unsatisfied?
How often do you evaluate the things you can be thankful for?
How often do you actually thank God for those things?
How often do you complain during the day?
Commentary
God calls us to live wisely and by His standards. We have no way of knowing when evil will attempt to bring us down. For this reason, we must keep our standards high, act wisely, and take any opportunity to do good. God wants the very best for our lives. That is why He calls us to be filled with His Holy Spirit in order to satisfy our hungers. It’s so easy to want to satisfy ourselves with worldly pleasures like drinking, drugs, or sex, but those highs you get will not last, and often lead to bad decisions that will have major consequences. God wants us to know Him and His love so well that we are fully satisfied with only Him. When we do this, we find we can’t help but give thanks to our Father for everything He is and for everything He does. Even in the hard times, when it seems like there’s nothing to be thankful for, you can be thankful solely in God’s providence; God will provide you with the strength to persevere, and you will come out of it even stronger and closer to Him than before. There are so many beautiful blessings to come when we live a life for God alone.
Devotional Author: Brittany Brown